Impact of SCBA size and fatigue from different firefighting work cycles on firefighter gait.

Risk of slips, trips and falls in firefighters maybe influenced by the firefighter's equipment and duration of firefighting. This study examined the impact of a four self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) three SCBA of increasing size and a prototype design and three work cycles one bout (1B), two bouts with a five-minute break (2B) and two bouts back-to-back (BB) on gait in 30 firefighters. Five gait parameters (double support time, single support time, stride length, step width and stride velocity) were examined pre- and post-firefighting activity.

Impact of SCBA size and firefighting work cycle on firefighter functional balance.

Slips, trips and falls are leading causes of fireground injuries. A functional balance test (FBT) was used to investigate the effects of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) size and design, plus firefighting work cycle. During the FBT, subjects walked along a narrow platform and turned in defined spaces, with and without an overhead obstacle.