Abstract
The Pack Test (PT) is a widely used test to establish readiness for work in wildland firefighting. It is common to perform this test dressed in regular exercise clothing. However, wildland firefighters (WFF) have to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) during their deployments, which increases the physiological strain and reduces their work capacity. This study aimed to analyse the impact of full PPE on PT performance. Nine male professional WFF performed in random order a PT walking at the fastest possible self-pace wearing two different clothing configurations: (i) traditional short sports gear (SG) and (ii) the PPE currently used by Spanish WFF. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion and lap time were recorded during the PT. In addition, oxygen uptake (VO2) was estimated through the individual VO2–HR relationship previously obtained during a graded exercise test. There was a significant decrease in the PT performance (i.e., completion time) (~12%, p < 0.05) in PPE. The physiological demands with this configuration were significantly higher (~10%, p < 0.05). WFF spent ~13 min above the anaerobic threshold in PPE vs. ~4 min in SG. A multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed that PT performance variation might be explained by the maximal aerobic velocity (84.5%) in PPE and the VO2max (75.9%) in SG. In conclusion, wearing complete PPE increases WFF’s physiological strain, which translates into a significant PT performance reduction. Performing the test walking at the fastest possible self-pace wearing the PPE would better reflect the high-intensity effort periods reported in real scenarios.
Highlights
Fighting wildfire is a physically demanding occupation [1,2] requiring firefighters to be physically fit to minimise fatigue and work safely and competently [3]
The results of the anthropometric and graded exercise tests performed in the laboratory that define the wildland firefighters (WFF)’s morphological and cardiopulmonary characteristics are shown in wore protective equipment (PPE) (Table 2)
An interaction effect (p < 0.05) between clothing configuration and time on Heart rate (HR) and VO2 was obtained. Both the HR and estimated VO2 were higher with PPE than sports gear (SG) (p < 0.05, ηp 2 = 0.73, 0.71)
Summary
Fighting wildfire is a physically demanding occupation [1,2] requiring firefighters to be physically fit to minimise fatigue and work safely and competently [3]. To determine whether personnel are fit for duty, an increasing number of firefighting agencies (e.g., the USDA Forest Service; Australian Fire Agencies; British Columbia Forest Service in Canada or Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Spain) employ physical competency tests, such as the Pack Test (PT) [4,5]. This test involves a 4.83 km hike over level terrain while carrying a 20.4 kg pack within 45 min [6].
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