Assessment of confined space entry and rescue training for aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) members in the United States.

Introduction: Fire and emergency service workers, including Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting members, may be called on to perform confined space entry and rescue operations. The purpose of the present study was to develop a comprehensive and valid understanding of the present state of confined space entry and rescue training effectiveness and resultant compliance or use of best practices among trained Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting personnel.

Method: The study used a convergent, parallel mixed-methods approach.

A Gap Analysis Survey of US Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Members to Determine Highly Infectious Disease Training and Education Needs.

Objective: Despite lessons learned from the recent Ebola epidemic, attempts to survey and determine non-health care worker, industry-specific needs to address highly infectious diseases have been minimal. The aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) industry is often overlooked in highly infectious disease training and education, even though it is critical to their field due to elevated occupational exposure risk during their operations.

Methods: A 44-question gap analysis survey was distributed to the ARFF Working Group to determine where highly infectious education and training can be improved.