Questões de Concurso

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Effect of Protective Clothing and Fatigue on Firefighters’ Functional Balance

Every year, more than 38,000 firefighters are injured on the fireground. Among causes of moderate or severe injuries of firefighters, slips, trips, and falls are the most significant cause (28%) of firefighting injuries, followed by overexertion (23%), struck by objects (17%), exposure to detrimental environment (15%), and others (17%). Firefighters regularly work in hot, smoky, and slippery fireground conditions with many obstacles and to provide protection under these circumstances, they wear fully encapsulating “bunker gear style” personal protective equipment (PPE), which includes bunker coat, bunker pants, boots, helmet, face mask, gloves, and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The primary design requirements for firefighting PPE are to provide protection from the by-products of combustion, but current designs and typical materials have significant negative impacts on balance, mobility, thermoregulation etc. Furthermore, during emergency operations, firefighters may become fatigued by the strenuous firefighting activity and heat stress, which can further impair balance control.

In spite of the obvious benefits of PPE in protecting firefighters from heat, smoke and fire, the use of PPE may negatively affect firefighters’ functional balance. Functional balance is defined as the ability to prevent a loss of balance and maintain body posture while performing functional tasks. Wearing PPE may impair the functional balance of firefighters due to its heavy weight, bulkiness of the material, and a SCBA face mask, which limits vision. Wearing PPE also changes the firefighter’s center of gravity, increases fatigue, and imposes physiological burdens, e.g., increased oxygen consumption and heart rate. The heavy, insulative aspect of PPE also contributes to increased metabolic work done by the firefighter, resulting in increased heat stress that might negatively impact functional balance. During firefighting activity, heat stress and the resulting elevation in body temperature hastens muscular fatigue, promotes dehydration, increases cardiovascular strain, and interferes with cognitive function. While relatively few studies have investigated the effects of firefighting PPE on functional balance, no studies have been found related to the effects of fatigue due to firefighting activity on the functional balance of firefighters.

(P. Hur, KS Rosengren, GP Horn, DL Smith. ideals.illinois.edu – 2013. Adapted.)

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