Citation

Fogleman M, Bhojani FA. Int. J. Occup. Safety Ergonomics 2005; 11(2): 161-179.

Affiliation

Department of Safety Science, Embry-Riddle University, Prescott, AZ, USA. maxwell.fogleman@erau.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15938766

Abstract

Firefighting is a hazardous and physically demanding activity. The demanding nature of the tasks involved in firefighting requires a high level of fitness both for the safety of the firefighting personnel as well as for the adequate performance of their tasks. Here, the characteristics (body weight, lung function, etc.) of a small group of refinery firefighters were investigated using exploratory factor analysis and discriminant analysis. The results indicated that there is a group of factors that characterize those individuals meeting minimum fitness requirements as described previously in the literature. The factors that were identified included those related to anthropometry (such as body composition and weight) and those related to physical capabilities (such as push-ups). Since these data are collected relatively easily in most occupational settings, they may offer an efficient surrogate method to determine fitness for duty among firefighters.

Language: en