The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) coordinates firefighting efforts among Federal and State agencies. As part of its mandate to ensure current, shared information, a report on Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety issues will be published twice a year by the Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC). The report will include activities related to the MTDC project on firefighter health and safety, including summaries of research, abstracts of related reports, articles, and field notes. Also included will be announcements of upcoming events and practical approaches to manage fatigue, environmental stress, and other factors that compromise the health and safety of wildland firefighters.
BackgroundEach fire season, 20,000 to 30,000 firefighters fight wildfires on Federal lands. Many more battle fires on State and private lands. The NWCG’s Safety and Health Working Team (SHWT) oversees issues dealing with the safety and health of wildland firefighters.
Federal resource-management agencies participated in the 1998 Wildland Firefighter Safety Awareness Study to identify and change aspects of the organization that might compromise firefighter safety. Other studies have suggested new ways to improve and maintain the health and safety of firefighters. To explore these issues, MTDC and the SHWT hosted a conference in Missoula during April 1999. Researchers, fire managers, and on-the-ground firefighters met to share information, consider new approaches to health and safety, and make recommenda-tions for research, development, and implementation. The recommendations and papers presented at the conference are included in an MTDC publication, Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety: Recommendations of the April 1999 Conference (ordering information is on the last page of this report).
The NWCG assigned MTDC the task of coordinating the Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety Project and of serving as the focal point for ongoing and future studies. MTDC has conducted numerous research and development projects related to the health, safety, and productivity of wildland firefighters, including work on nutrition, hydration, uniforms, heat stress, protective equipment, tools, fitness, work capacity, employee health, and the health hazards of smoke. The Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety project will focus on three main areas:
- Work and Rest Issues: Assignment length, shift length, sleep, fatigue, and crew type. The goal of this phase is to develop an objective approach to determine work/rest standards and recommended assignment lengths for crews and overhead.
- Energy and Nutrition: The effect of energy and nutrition on immune function and oxidative stress. The goal of this phase is to improve the energy intake, nutrition, and immune function of wildland firefighters.
- Fitness and Work Capacity: Implementation of work capacity standards and tests, training for test administration, and medical standards for firefighters. The goal of this phase is safe implementation of work-capacity standards and improvements in the safety and productivity of firefighters.
MTDC has convened a technical panel to review existing research, and to identify research and funding priorities for the project. Panel members include: Wayne Askew, Ph.D., University of Utah; Brent Ruby, Ph.D., University of Montana; Steve Wood, Ph.D., R.D., Ross Laboratories; Becki Livingston, USDA Forest Service; and Dave Aldrich, USDA Forest Service. The panel, chaired by Brian Sharkey, Ph.D., of MTDC, will get direction from the SHWT and seek additional expertise as needed.
Recommendations of the April 1999 Conference
In April 1999, researchers and fire managers met to consider ways to improve the health and safety of wildland firefighters, and to make recommendations for research, development, or implementation in the areas of:
- Illness, injury, and fatality prevention.
- Job requirements/issues.
- The working environment.
- Energy, nutrition, and health.
- Individual (human) factors.
The recommendations are included in the MTDC publication Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety: Recommendations of the April 1999 Conference (9951-2841-MTDC).
