Evaluation of Rhabdomyolysis and Heat Stroke in Structural Firefighter Cadets

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Report: Evaluation of Rhabdomyolysis and Heat Stroke in Structural Firefighter Cadets: HHE 2018-0154-3361
• Personal Author:
  Eisenberg, Judith S. ; Feldmann, Karl D. ; Li, Jessica F.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  A representative of a city-operated structural firefighter cadet training program requested a health hazard evaluation concerning heat-related (HRI) illness and rhabdomyolysis among cadets. The request was prompted by the hospitalization of a cadet for heat stroke and rhabdomyolysis. The death of a second cadet was investigated in a separate evaluation. Both cadets became ill on the first day of the training course. During our site visit, we met with training course personnel
  
  reviewed written facility policies, incident reports, workers' compensation claims, and medical records
  
  observed cadet outdoor physical fitness activities and firefighter task-based training exercises
  
  recorded environmental conditions and estimated metabolic effort expended during outside activates and exercises
  
  and administered a knowledge assessment on HRI and rhabdomyolysis. We found that high exertion levels and elevated core body temperatures, inherent components of firefighter cadet training programs, represent potential risk factors for HRI and rhabdomyolysis among participants. Several factors at this training center may contribute to an increased risk of HRI and rhabdomyolysis among cadets. These include outdoor environmental conditions, gaps in knowledge about HRI and rhabdomyolysis, and the absence of basic HRI prevention measures. Our review identified multiple areas of improvement for the department's heat stress management program and HRI and rhabdomyolysis training materials. We recommended (1) expanding the existing heat stress management program to include refresher training, procedures on how to assess environmental heat conditions, and using a buddy system
  
  (2) utilizing the department's exercise physiologists to help cadets safely maintain their physical fitness and heat acclimatization prior to the start of their training course
  
  and (3) implementing a medical reassessment policy if more than a 3-6 month delay occurs between a cadet's initial medical evaluation and the start of their assigned training course.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Environment Firefighters Fires Heat Exhaustion Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Fire Protection Environmental Factors Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Equipment Heat Heat-Related Illness Heat Exhaustion Heat Exposure Heat Stress Heat Stroke Muscular Disorders OSHA Region 6 Rhabdomyolysis Structural Firefighter Cadet Course Structural Firefighter Training Training

  More +
• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 2018-0154-3361, 2019 Nov ; :1-38
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201801543361
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Texas ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  38 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Tyrawski, Jennifer ; Booher, Donald ; Moore, Kevin ; Dhirar, Nonita ; Echt, Hannah
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057777
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2020-100137
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2019]. Evaluation of rhabdomyolysis and heat stroke in structural firefighter cadets. By Eisenberg J, Li JF, Feldmann KD. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Hazard Evaluation Report 2018-0154-3361. https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201801543361
• Editor(s):
  Hamilton, Cheryl
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  922160 - Fire Protection - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:86ffb9ba9070266b327c51437fb9ccdd55c0f710c849a75b5629a7ede09dd491bbc7f405f954b0061325c9832245cdb6eaf59d736f125b25f0d738312ac3522d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/82755/cdc_82755_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 513.41 KB ]