Are shorter, more frequent shifts for firefighters and incident managers a better alternative to regular day and night shift rosters that are currently used by fire and land management agencies in Australia? Fire Note 120 explores this. The research team developed a testing procedure that evaluates the fatigue and mental performance implications of shorter, more frequent shifts over a nine-day period.
Fire Note 120: This research is investigating whether shorter, more frequent shifts are a better alternative to regular day and night shift rosters that are currently used by fire and land management agencies in Australia. Data is currently being analysed, and when complete, the research will provide fire managers with initial research on the potential use of sustained operations rosters for firefighters and incident management teams during catastrophic bushfire events.
Bushfire CRC PhD student Grace Vincent from Deakin University is recruiting 50 firefighters from across Australia to help gather important data on firefighters and sleep during multi-day deployments. This research is important in managing firefighter health and safety, while providing ongoing protection against bushfires.
What is in the smoke of bushfires at the rural/urban interface? Fire Note 114 outlines research assisting fire agencies gain a better understanding of potentially toxic emissions and their exposure concentrations at fires in the rural/urban interface and what this means. The materials burnt during the study are commonly present in a house or surrounds, but the current knowledge on their combustion is limited.
Fire Note 114: This Fire Note outlines the emission products released in smoke from rural/urban interface fires and what this means. The materials burnt during the research are commonly present in a house or surrounds, but the current knowledge on their combustion is limited. A better understanding of the type and concentrations of potentially toxic gases and particles released during a fire will help assess exposure risks to firefighters and communities at the rural/urban interface.
Background: The work demands involved in firefighting place significant stress on the cardiovascular system. This study investigated the application of the AHA/ACSM Health/Fitness Facility Preparticipation Screening Questionnaire in volunteer Country Fire Brigade (CFA) firefighters. Methods: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors were measured in 3777 CFA firefighters and entered into a modified version of the American Heart Association (AHA)/ACSM Health/Fitness Facility Preparticipation Screening Questionnaire to stratify individuals as low, moderate or high risk.
Fire and rescue staff routinely endure significant psychological and environmental stress exposure on the job. While much has been done to improve understanding of the physiological effects of exposure to these conditions, little has been done to quantify the inflammatory stress response that firefighters are exposed to during wildfire suppression. Therefore the aim of the present study was to explore whether firefighters experienced a change in inflammatory markers following one day, and across two days of wildfire suppression tasks.
The present study examined the validity of tympanic temperature measurements as a predictor of core temperature on the fireground in different environmental conditions. Fifty-one volunteer firefighters participated in the study across four different conditions, the conditions consisted of; 1) passive (i.e., no intervention) cooling in cold ambient temperatures (0-6°C); 2) cooling (through water immersion) in cool ambient temperatures (10-12ºC); 3) cooling (through water immersion) in warm ambient temperatures (21.5°C); and, 4) passive cooling in warm ambient temperatures (22°C).
The full proceedings from the 2012 Research Forum are now available. Held as part of the annual conference in Perth, the Research Forum focuses on the delivery of research findings across different disciplines for emergency management personnel who need to use this knowledge for their daily work.
Exposure to smoke and high temperatures, coupled with little sleep, can impair firefighters’ cognitive (mental) and physical capacities on the fireground. Fire Note 111 presents research currently being undertaken to discover more about the combined effects of these stressors by simulating bushfire suppression activities indoo
