What fighting fires does to the human body
Firefighters who bravely battle blazes are putting their bodies under the same stress as professional athletes, with the physical toll of fighting fires revealed in a landmark new study.
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Firefighters face similar health risks to overworked athletes, according to new research revealing the toll battling a blaze takes on their bodies.
The Deakin University study, published today, analysed blood tests from firefighters before and after a day on the firefront and found their inflammatory changes were comparable to professional sportspeople who trained too hard.
The findings have prompted calls for better workload management to ensure firefighters were given enough rest days and not placed at risk of long-term health consequences.
Lead author Luana Main said it was a particular concern as Australia’s bushfire seasons become longer and more intense.
“If we’re expecting these guys to be working at a higher level for a longer period of time we are really going to need to look at strategies to make sure we are managing their health and wellbeing,” Dr Main said.
The medical data collected from 38 volunteer firefighters indicated a 12-hour day tackling bushfires caused heightened levels of cytokines — the body’s messenger molecules responsible for initiating inflammation and the body’s sickness response.
If those markers were elevated for extended periods it could pose negative health outcomes for firefighters over the long-term, Dr Main said.
She said firefighters could benefit from following the lead of athletes, such as AFL players, who use smartphone apps to log their health data and workloads.
It would involve filling in a daily questionnaire about sleep quality, fatigue, mood and soreness, and the app would then alert those in charge of fire crews to know when to check on their wellbeing.
“What we want to be looking for is whether there’s a change over time and any markers that indicate someone’s potentially at risk,” Dr Main said.
CFA volunteer of 40 years Lindsay McHugh said fire authorities were increasingly mindful of making sure people weren’t being overworked.
He said on his recent deployment to tackle the catastrophic fires in Mallacoota there was a major focus on combating exhaustion.
“We talked a lot about fatigue management and putting in rest days between different deployments to make sure people aren’t being overused,” he said.
“Health and wellbeing of firefighters is critical, it’s at the forefront of our minds.”
He said there were multiple factors that added to fatigue for firefighters, including the pressure of dealing with life-threatening situations, long travel times and waiting periods, and difficulty sleeping.
“It’s not uncommon to have 12 to 14 hour days,” he said.
“You get to bed and your mind’s ticking over about what happened that day and what the potential is to happen the next day.”
MORE NEWS
DISGRACED ST KEVIN’S COACH MOVED ON TO ANOTHER PRIVATE SCHOOL
‘HOLDEN IS WALKING AWAY FROM AUSTRALIA’
SOUTHEAST MELBOURNE’S WORST DRUG DEALERS EXPOSED
CFA deputy chief officer Garry Cook said in recent years the authority had made “significant improvements to the monitoring and management of member health and wellbeing on firegrounds”.
He said where possible, confidential health checks were available to firefighters before, during and after significant incidents, examining their blood pressure, heart rate, carbon monoxide exposure and hydration levels.