Assessing the Impact of Advanced Cooling Technology in Firefighting Gear During Live Burn Scenario

Details

• Personal Author:
  Altman L ; Bellacov R ; Bhattacharya, Amit ; Davis K ; Davis R ; Fang Q ; Hasan Z ; Jetter W ; Kim MO ; Kubley A ; Minhaj M ; Rao M ; Schulz M ; Shanov V ; Williams WJ ; Yu Z
• Description:
  Objective: A firefighter wears a standard safety coat, its model unchanged for many years, when tackling a fire. We designed a new cooling system coat with carbon nano tube-based fabric and pouches inside the coat for coolants and fans. The coats, one standard and the other still evolving, are compared on several metrics including core body temperature and thermal comfort. Methods: An experimental protocol was designed involving a live burn facility under the paradigm of non-inferiority study with firefighters trying both coats. The metrics are measured at several phases of the protocol. Multivariate t-test is used to compare the performance of the coats. Results: The new coat is not inferior to the standard coat. Conclusion: The new coat in its final form, which is yet to be tested fully, is a plausible replacement for the standard coat. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular System Firefighters Fires Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Perceptions Body Temperature Borg Scale Carbon Nanotubes CNT Dry Ice As A Coolant Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Equipment Heart Rate Heart Rate Variability Hyperthermia Protective Clothing Respiratory Distress

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• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Chicago Region [OSHA] ; Ohio ; Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070649
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2025 Feb; :[Epub ahead of print]
• Contact Point Address:
  Marepalli Rao, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Department of Biostatistics, Health Informatics, and Data Sciences, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267
• Email:
  raomb@ucmail.uc.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon nanotubes (CAS RN 308068-56-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0019c790754b4683fb08dfc91c4397d188f3b79f911634d428cab54ed44f34591811b5295a15879a3d463e394f7781c9477407bf5b7b7dbe4ed5903f434a0fdf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208827/cdc_208827_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.15 MB ]