How firefighters deal with heat stress and fatigue
New research draws on sport performance strategies to help firefighters
Peer-Reviewed PublicationIMAGE: NEW RESEARCH DRAWS ON SPORT PERFORMANCE STRATEGIES TO HELP FIREFIGHTERS view more
CREDIT: IMAGE BY ELG21 FROM PIXABAY
Searing heat, fireballs and walls of embers. Australian firefighters faced extreme conditions during the 2020 summer bushfires, which claimed the lives of nine firefighters across the country. Now research is drawing on sport performance strategies to better help them combat heat stress and fatigue.
A new study asked more than 470 firefighters how they recover in the field, especially in situations of greatest heat stress. Air and helmet temperatures at residential fires can reach 750C and 190C respectively, while flame temperatures during bushfires can be as high as 1100C.
The study found firefighters generally rely on simple strategies to lower their core body temperature, such as finding shade, drinking water and removing helmets and jackets. However, the research suggests there is potential for better cooling and recovery protocols.
Dr Hugh Fullagar from the Human Performance Research Centre at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) led the study, which was conducted in partnership with Fire and Rescue NSW – the fourth largest urban fire service in the world.
“NSW’s 7000 firefighters are tasked with protecting the homes and lives of 8 million people from the perils of fire. They have to perform physical tasks in extreme heat while wearing heavily insulated protective clothing, which results in acute physical and psychological fatigue.
“We know from data overseas that more than 75 per cent of firefighters experience heat-related illness symptoms such as headache, sudden muscle cramps, dizziness, nausea, and fainting, and that sudden cardiac death accounts for almost half of all firefighter duty-related fatalities.
"Heat stress also results in poorer cognitive functioning and decision making, which in turn likely increases the risk of fatalities,” Dr Fullagar said.
Despite these risks, there has been limited understanding of how firefighters perceive the challenging tasks they perform, the conditions they face, or the fatigue and recovery strategies required to optimise performance and health during active duty.
“Given the predicted increased prevalence of bushfires in Australia due to climate change, along with the unique conditions, terrains and duties our firefighters face - which pose risks to operational safety - it is important to identify more effective, yet practical cooling strategies to recover from physically and mentally demanding tasks in the heat,” Dr Fullagar said.
“We need to understand how firefighters are feeling, what they like or dislike and what is available to them to help optimise cooling and safety, if we want to improve best-practice.”
While the firefighters surveyed generally used simple cooling strategies such as sitting in the shade, drinking water or removing protective clothing, it is thought this is mainly due to what is available.
They expressed a desire for improved access to similar methods being applied to promote safety and performance in sport such as cold consumables (eg. slushies), external cooling aids (eg. ice packs/vests), as well as other recovery equipment (eg. cooling fans, portable shade cover).
This study was the first part of a two-part study. With a better understanding of the available and relevant cooling and recovery strategies preferred by firefighters, the next step is to determine the optimum combination, timing and selection of these strategies.
This will be assessed in a controlled, laboratory environment to help establish ‘best practice’ recovery protocols following fire-fighting activity. The identification of these protocols will help firefighters recover, as well as enhance the safety of the workforce.
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The study: Australian firefighters perceptions of heat stress, fatigue and recovery practices during fire-fighting tasks in extreme environments, was recently published in the journal Applied Ergonomics.
JOURNAL
Applied Ergonomics
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Survey
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Australian firefighters perceptions of heat stress, fatigue and recovery practices during fire-fighting tasks in extreme environments
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
31-Aug-2021
COI STATEMENT
N/A
In hot weather, outdoor laborers work less - when economy is growing
A new analysis suggests that U.S. workers in industries that expose them to weather conditions work fewer hours per day when temperatures surpass 90 degrees Fahrenheit—but only during periods of economic growth. Matthew Neidell of Columbia University, New York, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on August 25, 2021.
Earlier research conducted by Neidell and co-author Joshua Graff Zivin of the University of California, San Diego, revealed an association between extreme heat and fewer hours worked by people in weather-exposed conditions in the U.S. However, that analysis was conducted during a four-year period of economic growth, so it was unclear whether the same relationship would hold up over time or under different economic conditions.
To clarify, Neidell, Graff Zivin, and colleagues used historical weather records and data from the American Time Use Survey to analyze the relationship between time worked per day and daily temperatures for the period spanning 2003 through 2018. They focused on high-risk laborers, meaning workers in industries that expose them to weather conditions, such as agriculture, construction, and manufacturing.
The analysis showed that, when the U.S. economy was in a period of growth, such as from 2003 to 2007 and from 2015 to 2018, high-risk laborers worked fewer hours on high-heat days. Specifically, on days above 90 degrees, a high-risk laborer worked 2.6 minutes less on average for every degree above 90 than they worked on a 90-degree day.
However, during the Great Recession, from 2008 to 2014, there was no association between high-heat days and daily hours worked—perhaps, the authors suggest, because workers faced higher competition for employment and employers were less flexible.
The researchers also used climate and economic projections to predict the future effects of this relationship between heat and work time. They estimated that, in a “business-as-usual” scenario where greenhouse-gas emissions remain high, lost wages due to high-heat days could add up to $80 billion per year by 2090.
Further research will be needed to confirm and clarify these findings and predictions, which could help inform policies and adaptations to address high-heat labor conditions.
The authors add: “Our findings support previous results that the amount of time people work is affected by temperature, but the magnitude of this relationship depends on where we are in the business cycle. During hard economic times, work time is less sensitive to temperature changes, suggesting the relative bargaining power of employers and employees seems to influence who bears the costs of extreme heat.”
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Citation: Neidell M, Graff Zivin J, Sheahan M, Willwerth J, Fant C, Sarofim M, et al. (2021) Temperature and work: Time allocated to work under varying climate and labor market conditions. PLoS ONE 16(8): e0254224. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254224
Funding: This research was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation (Contract EP-D-14-031). The views expressed in this document are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Agency. Industrial Economics provided support in the form of salaries for authors MS, JW, and CF and EPA provided support in the form of salaries for authors MS and JM. The authors had sole responsibility for study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, and preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0254224
JOURNAL
PLoS ONE
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Observational study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Temperature and work: Time allocated to work under varying climate and labor market conditions
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
25-Aug-2021
COI STATEMENT
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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