Firefighters' physiological responses to boot weight and sole flexibility during ladder climbing and obstacle crossing

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chiou S ; Haskell W ; Turner NL ; Weaver D ; Zwiener J
• Description:
  Firefighter boots may be composed of rubber, lighter leather, or ultralight fabric. Boot soles can be stitched (less flexible) or cemented or bonded (more flexible). A five to 12% increase in oxygen consumption per kg of weight added to the foot has been observed; however, this increase may depend on boot weight and sole type. PURPOSE: To determine the effects of fabric/stitched sole (FS), leather/stitched sole (LS), leather/cement sole (LF) and rubber/bonded sole (RF) boots on firefighters' metabolic and respiratory variables during simulated firefighting tasks. METHODS: Fourteen women and 14 men, wearing full turnout clothing and equipment and one of four pairs of boots, climbed up and down a 3.7-m ladder for five minutes at 25 rungs per minute and then walked for five minutes at 0.57 m·sec-1 while stepping over four obstacles and carrying a 9.5-kg hose. Minute ventilation (VE), oxygen consumption (VO2 and VO2/kg), CO2 production (VCO2), and heart rate (HR) were measured, and minute-five data were used for analysis. Comparisons of boot weight and sole type were made using ANOVA with repeated measures. RESULTS: During ladder climbing, boot weight had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on VE, VO2 and VCO2 (*). There were significant effects (P < 0.05) of both boot weight and sole type for VO2/kg (**). During obstacle crossing, boot weight had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on VE, VO2 and VO2/kg (*). There were significant effects (P < 0.05) of both boot weight and sole type for VCO2 (**). CONCLUSION: There were significant effects of boot weight (4 - 6% increases per kg increase in boot weight) during both ladder climbing and obstacle crossing, which were mitigated by sole type for VO2/kg (2% decrease, ladder climbing) and VCO2 (6% decrease, obstacle crossing). [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular System Fatigue Firefighters Fires Men Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Ventilation Women

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• Keywords:
  Fire-fighters Fire-fighting-equipment Heart-rate Humans Physical-capacity Physiological-factors Physiological-fatigue Safety-clothing
• ISSN:
  0195-9131
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038327
• Citation:
  Med Sci Sports Exerc 2010 May; 42(5)(Suppl 1):166
• Email:
  NTurner@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
• Supplement:
  1
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6d2b7d7f954c1a93866e1d1aacb08d8bda071fbe58e68ea3e765c886291e66bca3abd0834354b071fb4153cdd42f3fba0aa0ecfc6de74be0bf94ca2f096e9e8a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192070/cdc_192070_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 115.97 KB ]