Firefighter

BACKGROUND: The utility of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) in children remains unclear. CASE PRESENTATION: An 11-year-old patient with liver trauma with massive extravasation was transported to a local hospital, where an emergency trauma surgery was unavailable. Following the placement of REBOA as a bridge to hemostasis, she was transferred to our hospital by a firefighting helicopter with balloon occlusion. Immediately, she underwent damage control laparotomy and transcatheter arterial embolization...

The main goal of this study was to update the Finnish smoke-diving drill (FSDD) and to measure the physical strain of and recovery from the drill. Furthermore, the aim was to compare the physical strain of contract and professional firefighters and effect of floor materials. The associations between aerobic capacity and physical strain were also studied. The updates made included an added hose pull task and updating the equipment used. Heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (V̇O2 ), and blood lactate concentration ([La-]) of 32 professional and 5 contract firefighters were measured before, during, and 10 and 30 min after the updated drill...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of emergency call volume on exertion, autonomic activity, and sleep among urban structural firefighters. METHODS: Thirty-four firefighters wore a wrist-based monitor to track sleep and autonomic parameters and rated their level of perceived exertion (RPE) and subjective sleepiness after a 24-hour shift. Predictive variables included total run time and total run time after 11:59 PM. RESULTS: Total run time and sleep duration accounted for RPE and subjective sleepiness; while total run time and total run time after 11:59 PM accounted for sleep durations on-duty...

High-temperature affordable flexible polymer-based pressure sensors integrated with repeatable early fire warning service are strongly desired for harsh environmental applications, yet their creation remains challenging. This work proposed an approach for preparing such advanced integrated sensors based on silver nanoparticles and an ammonium polyphosphate (APP)-modified laminar-structured bulk wood sponge (APP/Ag@WS). Such integrated sensors demonstrated excellent fire warning performance, including a short response time (minimum of 0...

Firefighters risk heat strain during occupational tasks when exposed to extremely hot environmental conditions and performing high-intensity work. Relevant training scenarios are therefore essential. This study investigated the effect of a single simulated smoke dive and the following recovery phase on physiological and perceptual responses. Nineteen professional male firefighters (43 ± 8 yr) performed a 2-min stair walk and a15-min simulated smoke dive in a two-floor heat chamber (110 °C to 272°C) (HEAT), followed by a 5-min stair walk outside the heat chamber...

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to calculate the dynamic air gap thickness between the human body and the turnout gear. Relationships between the air gap thickness and joint range of motion (ROM) were also explored. Methods . The air gap thickness and joint ROM of 12 male firefighters walking in a control condition with no self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and three varying-strapped SCBAs were measured using three-dimensional (3D) body scanning and 3D inertial motion capture. The interpolation technique was employed to predict the air gap thickness curve during walking...

Introduction: Survival outcomes for prostate cancer among specific occupational groups prone to regular medical check-ups vis-à-vis the general population have been understudied. For firefighters, a demographic subject to rigorous medical evaluations, possessing above-average medical expertise, and exposed to specific carcinogens of interest, prostate cancer survival in the US has never been studied. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study, utilizing data from the Florida Cancer Data System spanning 2004 to 2014, coupled with firefighter certification records from the Florida State Fire Marshal's Office...

The multi-layered negative effects caused by pollutants released into the atmosphere as a result of fires served as the stimulus for the development of a system that protects the health of firefighters operating in the affected area. A collaborative network comprising mobile and stationary Internet of Things (IoT) devices that are furnished with gas sensors, along with a remote server, constructs a resilient framework that monitors the concentrations of harmful emissions, characterizes the ambient air quality of the vicinity where the fire transpires, adopting European Air Quality levels, and communicates the outcomes via suitable applications (RESTful APIs and visualizations) to the stakeholders responsible for fire management decision making...

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INTRODUCTION: Approximately 50% of firefighter injuries occur in the musculoskeletal system. Poor movement quality increases injury risk, while movement-based interventions may reduce injuries. PURPOSE: Investigate the effectiveness of auto-generated exercise programming on movement literacy scores among firefighters with lower baseline Functional Movement System (FMS™) scores. METHODS: Eleven male firefighters (mean age 44) with FMS™ scores less than 14/21 were included...

Horizontal ball mills (HBMs) have been proven capable of remediating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil. Industrial-sized HBMs, which could easily be transported to impacted locations for on-site, ex-situ remediation, are readily available. This study examined PFAS degradation using an industrial-scale, 267 L cylinder HBM. This is the typical scale used in the industry before field application. Near-complete destruction of 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2 FTS), as well as the non-target PFAS in a modern fluorotelomer-based aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), was achieved when spiked onto nepheline syenite sand (NSS) and using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as a co-milling reagent...

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effect of a 7-month healthy lifestyle intervention on cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF) among male career military firefighters (FFs). METHODS: 49 FFs participated in a 7-month workplace multi-disciplinary healthy lifestyle intervention designed to reduce CMRF through exercise, diet, and improved sleep. Medical assessments, accelerometry, and surveys at the beginning and end determined program effectiveness. RESULTS: At the end of the intervention period, there was a significant improvement in measures of body composition and blood glucose...

Spirituality/religion is clinically relevant to patients experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or alcohol use disorder (AUD). Despite the comorbidity of PTSD and AUD among first responders (i.e., firefighters, law enforcement, paramedics, corrections officers), relatively little research has investigated the lived experience of first responders with PTSD and AUD as it related to spirituality and religion. As such, 12 (100% cisgender men, 91.7% White/European American) first responder psychiatric patients with comorbid PTSD and AUD were recruited from a psychiatric program serving first responders in the Northeast...

Firefighters are frequently exposed to a variety of chemicals formed from smoke, which pose a risk for numerous diseases, including cancer. Comparative urine proteome profiling could significantly improve our understanding of the early detection of potential cancer biomarkers. In this study, for the first time, we conducted a comparative protein profile analysis of 20 urine samples collected from ten real-life firefighters prior to and following emergency fire-induced smoke. Using a label-free quantitative proteomics platform, we identified and quantified 1325 unique protein groups, of which 45 proteins showed differential expressions in abundance in response to fire-smoke exposure (post) compared to the control (pre)...

BACKGROUND: Firefighters are an at-risk population for multiple psychiatric conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, alcohol use disorders (AUDs), and insomnia. These disorders are likely to co-occur; however, patterns of comorbidity have scarcely been investigated in firefighters. We aimed to identify subgroups of comorbidity of PTSD, depression, AUDs, and insomnia in a nationwide population of firefighters in South Korea. METHODS: A total of 54,054 firefighters responded to an online survey...

Wildland firefighters (WLFFs) experience lung function decline due to occupational exposure to fire smoke. To pinpoint the biological underpinnings of abnormal respiratory function following 3-7 years of WLFF service, we exposed mice to Douglas Fir Smoke (DFS) over 8 weeks. Following exposure, we assessed changes in lung structure through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and histological analysis, which was supported by immunohistochemistry staining. With MRI, we assessed the signal decay time, T2*, from ultrashort echo time images and utilized this metric as a measure of airspace enlargement...

Chiang Mai encounters severe pollution during the wildfire season. Wildland firefighters encounter various hazards while engaged in fire suppression operations, which encompass significant exposure to elevated concentrations of air pollutants resulting from combustion, especially particulate matter. The adverse effects of wildfire smoke on respiratory health are a significant concern. The objective of this study was to examine the potential adverse effects of PM2.5 exposure on the respiratory function and DNA damage of wildland firefighters...

Structural firefighters are exposed to a complex set of contaminants and combustion byproducts, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Additionally, recent studies have found structural firefighters' skin may be exposed to multiple chemical compounds via permeation or penetration of chemical byproducts through or around personal protective equipment (PPE). This mannequin-based study evaluated the effectiveness of four different PPE conditions with varying contamination control measures (incorporating PPE interface design features and particulate blocking materials) to protect against ingress of several VOCs in a smoke exposure chamber...

Objective: To examine the co-occurrence of alcohol misuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and potential sources of coping (e.g., spirituality/religion) and clinically relevant variables among first responders (e.g., firefighters, law enforcement corrections officers, paramedics). Method: We assessed rates of independent and co-occurring alcohol misuse and PTSD among a national online sample of 320 first responders as well as the prevalence and salience of S/R, guilt, shame, moral injury, aspects of S/R, and treatment interest...

Integrating flexible triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) into firefighting clothing offers exciting opportunities for wearable portable electronics in personal protective technology. However, it is still a grand challenge to produce eco-friendly TENGs from biodegradable and low-cost natural polymers for mechanical-energy harvesting and self-powered sensing. Herein, conductive polypyrrole (PPy) and natural chitosan (CS)/phytic acid (PA) tribonegative materials were employed onto the Lycra fabric (LC) in turn to assemble the biodegradable and flame-retardant single-electrode mode LC/PPy/CS/PA TENG (abbreviated as LPCP-TENG)...