Milwaukee Fire Department (Ret.), Milwaukee TOMISLOV MATIC Milwaukee Fire Department (Ret.), MilwaukeeRecruits from 9 consecutive fire academy classes were assessed on a battery of strength and endurance measures at Weeks 1, 7, and 14 of training. Regression analyses using Week 1 measures indicated that strength variables were the primary predictors of performance on physically demanding firefighting tasks assessed at the completion of training. Incremental validity was obtained with the addition of aerobic capacity, which produced more accurate performance distinctions among recruits with high strength levels. Results showed predictive validity and linearity throughout the upper range of strength and endurance levels, but evidence of an increased drop-off in performance for recruits with strength levels below the male 25th percentile. Structural equation modeling, a more powerful and comprehensive approach to validation than traditional regression, provided strong support for the construct validity of general strength and endurance as predictors of firefighter performance on physically demanding fire suppression and rescue tasks.Physical ability selection tests for municipal firefighters rapidly shifted away from the use of measures of strength and endurance based on criterion or construct validation models, following an initially successful legal challenge to this approach (Berkman v. the City of New York, 1982). The federal trial court ruled that although the test was professionally developed, the research on which it was based measured general human ability rather than firefighting skills in particular. Assessments of muscular strength and general fitness were largely replaced by tests based on a content validity strategy using simulated fire suppression and rescue tasks. This change was probably due in part to the perception that such tasks would be more readily accepted as "job related" by courts than field tests derived fromCorrespondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.