FUTURE STUDIES
At FDTN……
- A recent study completed by our colleagues Dr. Denise Smith et al, at the Illinois Fire Training Academy, demonstrated significant increases in pro-coagulation factors in firefighters after participating in live-fire training drills. The implication is an increased potential for infarction events generated during suppression operations….something else firefighters don’t need. We plan to confirm Dr. Smith’s findings in IFD firefighters.
With IFD…..
On vs. Off-duty Sleep Architecture Observed in Career Professional Firefighters
We are currently awaiting a decision by FEMA on our AFG-FP&S grant application that will allow us to undertake this study. Sleep disorders are a known risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. So, we will be looking to characterize the sleep architecture associated with working a 24/48 duty cycle. Here are some of the questions we would like to answer:
- How does sleep architecture differ between on and off duty days?
- What is the distribution of REM and Non-REM sleep across a 24 hour on and 48 hour off duty cycle?
- What impact does the interruption of sleep on duty have on firefighter physical and cognitive abilities?
Toxic gas environment exposure associated with structural firefighting
Carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide are compounds generated during structural fires that have a potentially deadly impact on the firefighter. Over the last 30 or so years, the amount of these compounds released during structural fires has increased drastically. Accordingly, the hazard to the firefighter has increased.
- We want to know how much carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide firefighters are exposed to under current SCBA standard operation procedures of IFD.
- We are working with IFD to track these gases from evolution by pyrolysis through a burning structure, into the firefighter, and finally out of the firefighter.
- The intent is to help IFD (and the fire service in general) better understand the threat these gases impose and guidelines to minimize exposure.
If you are at FDIC in Indy this year, we will be testing some of our monitoring equipment for this study during the Flashover HOT evolutions. Preliminary work on this topic will begin in June.
Across the US………
The largest and most important study we have in the planning stages is an expansion of our Indy Physiology study. As indicated in our report to FEMA, our original study is limited in its application by the architectural and environmental (weather, elevation, etc) character of Indianapolis, Indiana. In order to make the results of that study more widely applicable, we intend to collect similar data in several geographic regions of the US and Canada. We were not able to get federal funding for this study last year but we refuse to give up. We believe this is an important study that will further the understanding of the rigors of structural firefighting.
Dr. Jim Brown, PhD
Department of Kinesiology
Indiana University
jbbrown@indiana.edu
