Decreased Pulmonary Function Over 5 Years in US Firefighters.

Objective: To examine changes in pulmonary function over a 5-year period in US firefighters.

Methods: Spirometry values from occupational medical examinations separated by 5 years (2009 to 2016) were examined from 662 career firefighters in Virginia. Predicted values and expected 5-year changes in one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1/FVC were estimated using reference equations generated from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) data.

Flame retardants, dioxins, and furans in air and on firefighters' protective ensembles during controlled residential firefighting.

Introduction: Structure fires that involve modern furnishings may emit brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), as well as brominated and chlorinated dioxins and furans, into the environment.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to quantify the airborne and personal protective equipment (PPE) contamination levels of these compounds during controlled residential fires in the U.S.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Changes Over 5 Years Among Male and Female US Firefighters.

Objective: To examine changes in measures of cardiovascular health in male and female firefighters over 5 years.

Methods: Anthropometrics and biomarkers of cardiovascular health from two occupational medical exams separated by 5 years (2009 to 2016) were examined from a cohort of US career firefighters in Virginia (males, n = 603; females, n = 69). Changes over time were tested using paired t-tests and McNemar's tests.

Electrocardiographic Responses Following Live-Fire Firefighting Drills.

Objective: Firefighting-related environmental and physiological factors associated with cardiovascular strain may promote arrhythmias and myocardial ischemia, which induce sudden cardiac events (SCE) in susceptible individuals. The present study evaluated electrocardiographic (ECG) changes that may reflect increased SCE risk following simulated live-firefighting.

Methods: Using a repeated measures design, ECG tracings from 32 firefighters were recorded 12-hours post-firefighting in a residential structure and compared with a 12-hour control period.

Firefighters' and instructors' absorption of PAHs and benzene during training exercises.

Introduction: Training fires may constitute a major portion of some firefighters' occupational exposures to smoke. However, the magnitude and composition of those exposures are not well understood and may vary by the type of training scenario and fuels.

Objectives: To understand how structure fire training contributes to firefighters' and instructors' select chemical exposures, we conducted biological monitoring during exercises involving combustion of pallet and straw and oriented strand board (OSB) or the use of simulated smoke.

Firefighters' absorption of PAHs and VOCs during controlled residential fires by job assignment and fire attack tactic.

To better understand the absorption of combustion byproducts during firefighting, we performed biological monitoring (breath and urine) on firefighters who responded to controlled residential fires and examined the results by job assignment and fire attack tactic. Urine was analyzed for metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and breath was analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including benzene. Median concentrations of PAH metabolites in urine increased from pre-firefighting to 3-h post firefighting for all job assignments.

Understanding airborne contaminants produced by different fuel packages during training fires.

Fire training may expose firefighters and instructors to hazardous airborne chemicals that vary by the training fuel. We conducted area and personal air sampling during three instructional scenarios per day involving the burning of two types (designated as alpha and bravo) of oriented strand board (OSB), pallet and straw, or the use of simulated smoke, over a period of 5 days. Twenty-four firefighters and ten instructors participated.

Firefighting Induces Acute Inflammatory Responses that are not Relieved by Aspirin in Older Firefighters.

Objective: Sudden cardiac events account for 40% to 50% of firefighter line-of-duty deaths. Inflammatory proteins are strong biomarkers of cardiovascular inflammation. The present study investigated the effects of aspirin supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers following firefighting.

Targeted GC-MS analysis of firefighters' exhaled breath: Exploring biomarker response at the individual level.

Biomarker measurements can provide unambiguous evidence of environmental exposures as well as the resultant biological responses. Firefighters have a high rate of occupational cancer incidence, which has been proposed to be linked in part to their increased environmental exposure to byproducts of combustion and contaminants produced during fire responses. In this article, the uptake and elimination of targeted volatile organic compounds were investigated by collecting the exhaled breath of firefighters on sorbent tubes before and after controlled structure burns and analyzing samples using automated thermal desorption-gas chromatography (ATD-GC/MS).

Non-targeted GC/MS analysis of exhaled breath samples: Exploring human biomarkers of exogenous exposure and endogenous response from professional firefighting activity.

A non-targeted analysis workflow was applied to analyze exhaled breath samples collected from firefighters pre- and post-structural fire suppression. Breath samples from firefighters functioning in attack and search positions were examined for target and non-target compounds in automated thermal desorption-GC/MS (ATD-GC/MS) selected ion monitoring (SIM)/scan mode and reviewed for prominent chemicals. Targeted chemicals included products of combustion such as benzene, toluene, xylenes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that serve as a standard assessment of exposure.

Firefighter hood contamination: Efficiency of laundering to remove PAHs and FRs.

Firefighters are occupationally exposed to products of combustion containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and flame retardants (FRs), potentially contributing to their increased risk for certain cancers. Personal protective equipment (PPE), including firefighter hoods, helps to reduce firefighters' exposure to toxic substances during fire responses by providing a layer of material on which contaminants deposit prior to reaching the firefighters skin. However, over time hoods that retain some contamination may actually contribute to firefighters' systemic dose.

Exposure to a firefighting overhaul environment without respiratory protection increases immune dysregulation and lung disease risk.

Firefighting activities appear to increase the risk of acute and chronic lung disease, including malignancy. While self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA) mitigate exposures to inhalable asphyxiates and carcinogens, firefighters frequently remove SCBA during overhaul when the firegrounds appear clear of visible smoke. Using a mouse model of overhaul without airway protection, the impact of fireground environment exposure on lung gene expression was assessed to identify transcripts potentially critical to firefighter-related chronic pulmonary illnesses.

Effects of simulated firefighting and asymmetric load carriage on firefighter obstacle crossing performance.

Slips, trips, and falls (STF) of firefighters may occur while traversing stationary obstacles. STF risk may be amplified by fatigue from firefighting and carrying an asymmetric load. Vertical and horizontal clearances of the lead (VCL, HCL) and trailing (VCT, HCT) foot and contact with a 30 cm obstacle were examined in 24 firefighters.

Assessing gait changes in firefighters after firefighting activities and while carrying asymmetric loads.

One of the most common causes of injuries among firefighters is slips, trips, and falls on the fireground. Acute fatigue from firefighting activities and/or carrying asymmetric loads might impact gait characteristics increasing slip, trip, and fall risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of fatigue from simulated firefighting activities and carrying asymmetric loads (fire hose over one shoulder) on firefighters' gait behavior.

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.

Airborne contaminants during controlled residential fires.

In this study, we characterize the area and personal air concentrations of combustion byproducts produced during controlled residential fires with furnishings common in 21 century single family structures. Area air measurements were collected from the structure during active fire and overhaul (post suppression) and on the fireground where personnel were operating without any respiratory protection. Personal air measurements were collected from firefighters assigned to fire attack, victim search, overhaul, outside ventilation, and command/pump operator positions.

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.

Six-Minute Walk Test Performance in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis While Using Passive or Powered Ankle-Foot Orthoses.

Objective: To determine whether a powered ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) that provides dorsiflexor and plantar flexor assistance at the ankle can improve walking endurance of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Design: Short-term intervention.

Setting: University research laboratory.

Thermal response to firefighting activities in residential structure fires: impact of job assignment and suppression tactic.

Firefighters' thermal burden is generally attributed to high heat loads from the fire and metabolic heat generation, which may vary between job assignments and suppression tactic employed. Utilising a full-sized residential structure, firefighters were deployed in six job assignments utilising two attack tactics (1. Water applied from the interior, or 2.

Contamination of firefighter personal protective equipment and skin and the effectiveness of decontamination procedures.

Firefighters' skin may be exposed to chemicals via permeation/penetration of combustion byproducts through or around personal protective equipment (PPE) or from the cross-transfer of contaminants on PPE to the skin. Additionally, volatile contaminants can evaporate from PPE following a response and be inhaled by firefighters. Using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as respective markers for non-volatile and volatile substances, we investigated the contamination of firefighters' turnout gear and skin following controlled residential fire responses.

Effect of Aspirin Supplementation on Hemostatic Responses in Firefighters Aged 40 to 60 Years.

Sudden cardiovascular events account for approximately 45% to 50% of all duty-related deaths among firefighters and a disproportionate number of these fatalities occur after strenuous fire suppression activities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of acute and chronic aspirin supplementation on hemostatic function before and after live firefighting activities in older firefighters. A double-blind, crossover design included 4 treatments: a 2-week aspirin/placebo treatment ("chronic") and a single prefirefighting aspirin/placebo treatment ("acute").

Injury Risk and Noise Exposure in Firefighter Training Operations.

Introduction: Firefighters have high rate of injuries and illnesses, as well as exposures to high levels of noise. This study explored the relationship between noise exposure and injury among firefighters.

Methods: We recruited firefighters undergoing vehicle extrication and structural collapse emergency response training at a highly realistic training facility.