Effects of firefighting hood design, laundering and doffing on smoke protection, heat stress and wearability

Abstract

Firefighter hoods must provide protection from elevated temperatures and products of combustion (e.g. particulate) while simultaneously being wearable (comfortable and not interfering with firefighting activities). The purpose of this study was to quantify the impact of (1) hood design (traditional knit hood vs particulate-blocking hood), (2) repeated laundering, and (3) hood removal method (traditional vs overhead doffing) on (a) protection from soot contamination on the neck, (b) heat stress and (c) wearability measures. Using a fireground exposure simulator, 24 firefighters performed firefighting activities in realistic smoke and heat conditions using a new knit hood, new particulate-blocking hood and laundered particulate-blocking hood. Overall, soot contamination levels measured from neck skin were lower when wearing the laundered particulate-blocking hoods compared to new knit hoods, and when using the overhead hood removal process. No significant differences in skin temperature, core temperature, heart rate or wearability measures were found between the hood conditions.

Body Composition and Fitness Characteristics of Firefighters Participating in a Health and Wellness Program: Relationships and Descriptive Data

“…The work environments for firefighters can involve extreme conditions, where temperatures may exceed 500 °C [ 1 ], presenting a high risk of thermal injury [ 2 ]. Firefighters are often exposed to toxic environments and smoke inhalation [ 2 , 3 , 4 ], and will wear personal protective equipment and use a self-contained breathing apparatus in an attempt to limit exposure. While necessary, this protective equipment can equate to an additional load of greater than 20 kg [ 1 ], which increases the stress and difficulty (e.g., increased aerobic and anaerobic energy cost, decreased mobility, increased perception of effort) of fireground job tasks [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Benefits of nanotechnology for occupational ergonomic design: A positive step toward more protection of workers' health

“…Ergonomics researchers are now trying to overcome heat stress problems. They have designed protective clothing for firefighters (Huang et al, 2012; Kesler et al, 2021). These clothes have the sensors in smartphone that help to firefighters for monitoring air quality around fires (Shakeriaski & Ghodrat, 2022).…”

Disinfection By-Products in Drinking Water and Bladder Cancer: Evaluation of Risk Modification by Common Genetic Polymorphisms in Two Case–Control Studies

“… 23 The rs907611-A allele has also been associated ( ) with reduced counts of lymphocytes in a genome-wide analysis of blood-cell traits in the general population. 31 In contrast, individuals with the rs907611-GG genotype conceivably could have more lymphocytes both in circulation and as tissue infiltrates. These infiltrating lymphocytes provide better immune surveillance, which helps to eliminate cells with emerging mutations before they give rise to tumors, potentially contributing a protective effect to this genotype from bladder cancer.…”