Abstract
Protective clothing for fire fighters is characterized by high thermal insulation to reduce external heat gain through dry and wet heat [1,2]. However, these protective properties limit heat dissipation from the human body and impede thermoregulation [3,4]. As a result, fire fighters suffer from non-compensable heat stress during physical activity especially when exposed to a harsh environment [5]. However, there is little data available about the effect of internal and external heat load on whole-body thermo-physiological responses when wearing protective clothing. This study provides data of a lab trial including physical activity and a field test conducted in a fire chamber.
Highlights
Protective clothing for fire fighters is characterized by high thermal insulation to reduce external heat gain through dry and wet heat [1,2]
As for the lab trial, two exposures were separated by a recovery phase of 15 min duration at 25 °C
In the lab and field trials respectively, similar changes in rectal temperature were observed for the first (+0.15 (0.05) °C.10 min-1 and +0.17(0.11) °C.10 min-1) and the second exposure (+0.28(0.07) °C.10 min-1 and +0.29 (0.13) °C.10 min-1)
Summary
Protective clothing for fire fighters is characterized by high thermal insulation to reduce external heat gain through dry and wet heat [1,2]. These protective properties limit heat dissipation from the human body and impede thermoregulation [3,4]. Fire fighters suffer from non-compensable heat stress during physical activity especially when exposed to a harsh environment [5]. There is little data available about the effect of internal and external heat load on whole-body thermo-physiological responses when wearing protective clothing. This study provides data of a lab trial including physical activity and a field test conducted in a fire chamber
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