Physiological Demands of Basic Fire Management Tasks in Members of the Canadian Armed Forces: A Pilot Study

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are required to meet the minimum standards of the Fitness for Operational Requirements of CAF Employment (FORCE) job-based simulation test (JBST) and must possess the capacity to perform other common essential tasks. One of those tasks is to perform basic fire management tasks during fire emergencies to mitigate damage and reduce the risk of injuries and/or death until professional firefighters arrive at the scene. To date however, the physiological demands of common firefighting tasks have mostly been performed on professional firefighters, thus rendering the transferability of the demands to the general military population unclear. This pilot study aimed to quantify, for the first time, the physiological demands of basic fire management tasks in the military, to determine if they are reflected in the FORCE JBST minimum standard. We hypothesized that the physiological demands of basic fire management tasks within the CAF are below the physiological demands of the FORCE JBST minimum standard, and as such, be lower than the demands of professional firefighting.

To achieve this, 21 CAF members (8 females; 13 males; mean [SD] age: 33 [10] years; height: 174.5 [10.5] cm; weight: 85.4 [22.1] kg, estimated maximal oxygen uptake [$\dot V$O2peak]: 44.4 (7.4) mL kg-1 min-1) participated in a realistic, but physically demanding, JBST developed by CAF professional firefighting subject matter experts. The actions included lifting, carrying, and manipulating a 13-kg powder fire extinguisher and connecting, coupling, and dragging a 38-mm fire hose over 30 m. The rate of oxygen uptake ($\dot V$O2), heart rate, and percentage of heart rate reserve were measured continuously during two task simulation trials, which were interspersed by a recovery period. Rating of perceived exertion (6-no exertion; 20-maximal exertion) was measured upon completion of both task simulations. Peak $\dot V$O2 ($\dot V$O2peak) was estimated based on the results of the FORCE JBST.

The mean (SD) duration of both task simulation trials was 3:39 (0:19) min:s, whereas the rest period in between both trials was 62 (19) minutes. The mean O2 was 21.1 (4.7) mL kg-1 min-1 across trials, which represented 52.1 (12.2) %$\dot V$O2peak and ∼81% of the FORCE JBST. This was paralleled by a mean heart rate of 136 (18) beats min-1, mean percentage of heart rate reserve of 61.2 (10.8), and mean rating of perceived exertion of 11 ± 2. Other physical components of the JBST consisted of lifting, carrying, and manipulating a 13-kg load for ∼59 seconds, which represents 65% of the load of the FORCE JBST. The external resistance of the fire hose drag portion increased up to 316 N, translating to a total of 6205 N over 30 m, which represents 96% of the drag force measured during the FORCE JBST.

Our findings demonstrate that the physiological demands of basic fire management tasks in the CAF are of moderate intensity, which are reflected in the CAF physical fitness standard. As such, CAF members who achieve the minimum standard on the FORCE JBST are deemed capable of physically performing basic fire management tasks during fire emergencies.