Characterizing a Firefighter’s Immediate Thermal Environment in Live-Fire Training Scenarios

Willi, Joseph M.; Horn, Gavin P.; Madrzykowski, Daniel M.

doi:10.1007/s10694-015-0555-1

Cited by 38 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…While not a focus of this study, if a firefighter is searching ahead of the line as may be deemed necessary for rescuing a known trapped victim, he/she may experience these high-heat conditions, significantly increasing the risk of equipment failure and burn injury. Extended duration exposure to high heat flux, even in the absence of high ambient temperatures has been shown to be detrimental to firefighting PPE, particularly facepieces that may crack, bubble and deform even if the air temperature is relatively low (Putorti et al 2013;Willi, Horn, and Madrzykowski 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The research team supplied all PPE for the participants to enhance standardisation and to ensure that all protective equipment adhered to NFPA standards. been used to characterise risks faced by firefighters in live-fire training scenarios (Willi, Horn, and Madrzykowski 2016) and historically for firefighting activities that were largely exterior focused (Abeles, Delvecchio, and Himel 1973;Gempel and Burgess 1977). However, to date, these data acquisition systems have not been deployed in structure fire scenarios with typical residential fuel packages or linked to data from physiological status monitoring.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermal response to firefighting activities in residential structure fires: impact of job assignment and suppression tactic

Horn

Kesler

Kerber³

et al. 2017

Ergonomics

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Firefighters' thermal burden is generally attributed to high heat loads from the fire and metabolic heat generation, which may vary between job assignments and suppression tactic employed. Utilising a full-sized residential structure, firefighters were deployed in six job assignments utilising two attack tactics (1. Water applied from the interior, or 2. Exterior water application before transitioning to the interior). Environmental temperatures decreased after water application, but more rapidly with transitional attack. Local ambient temperatures for inside operation firefighters were higher than other positions (average ~10-30 °C). Rapid elevations in skin temperature were found for all job assignments other than outside command. Neck skin temperatures for inside attack firefighters were ~0.5 °C lower when the transitional tactic was employed. Significantly higher core temperatures were measured for the outside ventilation and overhaul positions than the inside positions (~0.6-0.9 °C). Firefighters working at all fireground positions must be monitored and relieved based on intensity and duration. Practitioner Summary: Testing was done to characterise the thermal burden experienced by firefighters in different job assignments who responded to controlled residential fires (with typical furnishings) using two tactics. Ambient, skin and core temperatures varied based on job assignment and tactic employed, with rapid elevations in core temperature in many roles.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal response to firefighting activities in residential structure fires: impact of job assignment and suppression tactic

Horn

Kesler

Kerber³

et al. 2017

Ergonomics

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“…Future work should evaluate different combinations of heat flux and cycles, to further characterize the "fatigue" effect of thermal exposures on mechanical properties. These exposures may be able to more accurately match fireground conditions with the recent development of heat flux measuring helmet that has been used to quantify conditions within live fire training structures [28]. In addition, other non-thermal exposure factors should be examined to assess their effect on SCBA lens degradation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the intensity, duration, and number of exposures to the field worn masks is unknown, and the extreme change in properties may be the result of exposures of a higher intensity, or of a greater number of exposures. Willi et al characterized live-fire training scenarios and found relatively short term exposures to heat fluxes more severe than 5 kW/m 2 [28]. As a quick pilot study, to quantify the effect of single, high-intensity heat exposures on the mechanical properties of the polycarbonate masks, two scenarios were performed on similar masks at a single exposure of 10 kW/m 2 for 90 seconds.…”

Section: Future Potential Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study on the effect of repeat moderate intensity radiant exposures on SCBA facepiece properties

Horn¹,

Kesler²,

Regan³

et al. 2017

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Firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) has evolved through significant technological improvements over the past half century. Enhanced thermal protection from modern PPE and the introduction of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) has enabled firefighters to work longer and more efficiently in immediately dangerous to life or health environments. Despite these advancements, performance limitations remain in many parts of the turnout gear ensemble. In particular, the SCBA mask represents a critical potential failure point, as a compromised lens can result in loss of vision, facial and airway burns, and other injuries associated with the inhalation of products of combustion. It has been speculated that repeated exposures to mild to moderate thermal exposures may cause a change in the mechanical properties of the SCBA face piece lens material, potentially weakening the mask and precipitating a catastrophic failure of the lens. To address this concern, a new laboratory instrument has been constructed to provide repeatable cyclic thermal exposure for SCBA facepieces building on the existing NIST radiant panel apparatus that has recently been adopted by the NFPA 1981 standard. SCBA facepieces that were worn in the field were also harvested to allow important comparison with changes caused by typical fire service use conditions. With this automated system SCBA facepieces were exposed to 1 kW/m 2 , 2 kW/m 2 and 5 kW/m 2 radiant heat flux exposures (NIST Thermal Classes I, II and III, respectively) for one, 10 and 100 cycles. Repeated exposure to Class I and II heat fluxes do not have a significant effect on thermal damage or mechanical properties compared to unexposed samples. While a single exposure to the 5 kW/m 2 condition also resulted in no visible thermal damage or mechanical changes, microcracking was consistently observed by 10 cycles and continued to extend in the 100 cycle samples. Though visible damage was evident after 10 cycles, mechanical properties were not affected. On the other hand, substantial reductions in ductility were noted after 100 cycles, with changes in mechanical properties that were similar to those measured in the field worn samples. In field worn samples where significant reductions in quasi-static tensile properties are noted, significant reduction in dynamic energy absorption were also measured. The 5 kW/m 2 -100 cycle samples that resulted in the most significantly reduced ductility were harvested from the area where visible surface microcracking was present. However, samples from the edges of the exposed area, where no visible damage was noted, also demonstrated smaller but significant reduction in ductility. Thus, there does not appear to be a one-to-one correlation between visual indications of thermal damage and reduced mechanical properties. However, if an SCBA facepiece shows visual indications of thermal damage or has been repeatedly exposed to Class III environments, the unit should be closely inspected and replacement considered.

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“…Thermal FED techniques based on air temperature (as measured by thermocouples) do not account for local velocity that can impact heat transfer, nor do they account for the effects of radiant heat. Radiation can have significant impacts on trapped occupants and operating firefighters; for example polycarbonate materials used in firefighting PPE have been shown to soften and damage even when the local air temperature averages 40°C, which was attributed to the significant radiant heat exposure [20]. Alternate FED methodologies exist that utilize heat flux measurements, but common laboratory heat flux gauges are limited when significant moisture is present in the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ex-Vivo Porcine Skin Model for Estimation of Trapped Occupant Burn Risk in Pre- and Post-suppression Fire Environments

et al. 2019

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There are currently important questions in the fire service as to the efficacy of various fire attack methods, both in terms of rapidly suppressing the fire and for potentially impacting the burn risk for occupants in the structure. A series of 24 full-scale residential fire experiments were performed to investigate the influence of fire size and fire service water application (interior only vs exterior-to-interior fire attack) on relative risk for skin burns in trapped occupants. A novel skin damage assessment tool utilizing ex vivo porcine skin samples was developed allowing measurement of temperatures at the surface of the porcine skin and at the subcutaneous fat surrogate interface. This tool allowed, for the first time, observation that typical fire attack methods resulted in short-lived transient increases in skin surface temperatures for a simulated occupant just outside the fire room that were typically around 5°C but ranged from 0°C to 15°C for rapid fire service intervention. Minimal differences were observed between the effects of interior or exterior fire streams immediately outside of the fire room. However, these values were markedly lower than when water application was delayed. This new tool provides novel information regarding trapped occupant skin burn risk that compliments traditional fire measurement tools and may provide a platform for future study on the impact of clothing as well as model based interpretation of experimental data that more accurately captures relevant physiology.

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Characterizing a Firefighter’s Immediate Thermal Environment in Live-Fire Training Scenarios

Cited by 38 publications

References 18 publications

Thermal response to firefighting activities in residential structure fires: impact of job assignment and suppression tactic

Thermal response to firefighting activities in residential structure fires: impact of job assignment and suppression tactic

A study on the effect of repeat moderate intensity radiant exposures on SCBA facepiece properties

Ex-Vivo Porcine Skin Model for Estimation of Trapped Occupant Burn Risk in Pre- and Post-suppression Fire Environments

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