by Brad Duncan
Thanks to support from the Kentucky Fire Commission, University of Kentucky College of Education Assistant Professor Mark Abel has been conducting a six-month investigation into ways to improve the health and fireground performance of firefighters.
Abel, a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion, believes this project is vitally important because research indicates that heart disease (i.e., heart attacks) causes 45 percent of on-duty deaths of firefighters in the United States.
Each morning for a period of six months, Abel and his team traveled to Richmond, Ky., to train the local firefighters for one hour while on duty. With three 24-hour shifts for each firefighter, the schedule provided training two to three days each week for each of the approximately 60 firefighters in the investigation.
Fitness and fireground performance testing were conducted on three occasions. A baseline testing session was completed in December 2008 and similar testing sessions were held in March and June 2009. During those sessions, blood pressure, flexibility, strength and body composition were measured before each firefighter completed the standardized Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT). This performance evaluation guided them through a series of activities they could encounter during the course of their job. While wearing a 50-pound vest they were required to climb a stair machine for three minutes, drag a fire hose, use a sledgehammer to strike a target, drag a 165-pound mannequin, among other tasks. Each fire fighter was timed with a goal of completing all tasks in 10 minutes and 20 seconds or less.
“Preliminary analysis of the first three months of fitness training indicated that our program improved the pass rate on the standardized firefighter test from 50 percent to 75 percent,” Abel said. “Feedback from the firefighters has been very positive, and we are collaborating with the Kentucky Fire Commission to extend the program for another 12 months. We also have a grant in review with FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] to continue the program for an additional three years.”
Local and state fire officials and the Richmond firefighters also see the benefits to the inclusion of fitness training into their daily activities.
“This project has definitely shed some light onto how important it is to be in shape,” said Richmond firefighter Doug Thompson. “Before, our department didn’t require us to train any each day, but there is no doubt that now we will implement a program of at least one hour each day. All of the guys will perform better because of it.”
The project is serving as a pilot program to provide data to support federal grant submissions, and ultimately Abel would like to evaluate the effects of the program on the reduction in work-related injuries and workers’ compensation costs.