Development of role-related minimum cardiorespiratory fitness standards for firefighters and commanders

• Published in: Ergonomics Vol. 59; no. 10; pp. 1335 - 1343
• Main Authors: Siddall, A. G., Stevenson, R. D. M., Turner, P. F. J., Stokes, K. A., Bilzon, J. L. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 02-10-2016; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Anthropometry; Cardiorespiratory Fitness - physiology; Exercise Test - methods; Female; Fire fighting; Firefighters; firefighting; Fires; Fitness; Humans; Male; metabolic cost; Middle Aged; Monitoring; Monitoring, Physiologic; Occupational health; Oxygen uptake; Physical demands analysis; physical employment standards; Physical fitness; Physical Fitness - physiology; role-related fitness; Simulation; Space life sciences; Task Performance and Analysis; Tasks; United Kingdom; Young Adult; British Isles; Physical demands analysis; role-related fitness; oxygen uptake; firefighting; physical employment standards; metabolic cost
• ISSN: 0014-0139; 1366-5847
• DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2015.1135997

A minimum cardiorespiratory fitness standard was derived for firefighters following a metabolic demands analysis. Design and minimal acceptable performance of generic firefighting task simulations (i.e. hose running, casualty evacuation, stair climb, equipment carry, wild-land fire) were endorsed by a panel of operationally experienced experts. Sixty-two UK firefighters completed these tasks wearing a standard protective firefighting ensemble while being monitored for peak steady-state metabolic demand and cardiovascular strain. Four tasks, endorsed as valid operational simulations by ≥90% of participants (excluding wild-land fire; 84%), were deemed to be a sufficiently valid and reliable basis for a fitness standard. These tasks elicited an average peak steady-state metabolic cost of 38.1 ± 7.8 ml kg
−1
 min
−1
. It is estimated that healthy adults can sustain the total duration of these tasks (~16 min) at ≤90% maximum oxygen uptake and a cardiorespiratory fitness standard of ≥42.3 ml kg
−1
 min
−1
would be required to sustain work.
Practitioner Summary: A cardiorespiratory fitness standard for firefighters of ≥42.3 ml kg
−1
 min
−1
was derived from monitoring minimum acceptable performance of essential tasks. This study supports the implementation of a routine assessment of this fitness standard for all UK operational firefighters, to ensure safe physical preparedness for occupational performance.