RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Perceptions of Heat Stress, Heat Strain and Mitigation Practices in Wildfire Suppression across Southern Europe and Latin America
A1 Carballo Leyenda, Ana Belén
A1 Villa Vicente, José Gerardo
A1 Delogu, Giuseppe M.
A1 Rodríguez Marroyo, José Antonio
A1 Molina Terrén, Domingo M.
A2 Educacion Fisica y Deportiva
K1 Deporte
K1 Educación Física
K1 Wildland firefighting
K1 Personal protective equipment
K1 Readiness for work
K1 Physical employment standards
K1 Work capacity
AB [EN] This study aimed to assess current perceptions of heat stress, heat strain, acclimatisation and recovery practices in wildland fire suppression. A total of 1459 wildfire and structural firefighters, all involved in wildland fire suppression, completed an 18-question survey. Most participants (81.3%) reported heat strain as one of the main risks faced during wildland firefighting. Thermal strain is considered an important risk for health and safety in wildland firefighting. The best-valued heat strain mitigation strategies were those traditionally recommended in wildland fire suppression: (i) an adequate work/rest ratio (79.0%), (ii) acclimatisation (71.6%), (iii) enhancing body ventilation by opening protective clothing or removing helmets or gloves (63.5%), and (iv) drinking water and food supplementation (52.1%). Despite these results, only 22% of the participants reported carrying out acclimatisation in the workplace. The vast majority of the respondents (87.4%) consider active cooling strategies (i.e., ice slurry ingestion, ice vests, etc.) impractical in combating heat strain during wildfire suppression. We identified a gap between knowledge about heat strain, its mitigation strategies and the level of actual implementation of these practices in the workplace. Our results highlight the need to improve heat strain management and implement operational directives for acclimatisation and active cooling interventions.
PB MDPI
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10612/18816
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10612/18816
NO Carballo-Leyenda, B., Villa-Vicente, J. G., Delogu, G. M., Rodríguez-Marroyo, J. A., & Molina-Terrén, D. M. (2022). Perceptions of Heat Stress, Heat Strain and Mitigation Practices in Wildfire Suppression across Southern Europe and Latin America. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19). https://doi.org/10.3390/IJERPH191912288
DS BULERIA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de León
RD Jul 5, 2024