Two dozen firefighters and ten fire instructors will join researchers at the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) beginning Saturday to continue studying the effects of fire, exposure and contamination on firefighters.
“This year’s study builds on last year’s efforts to better understand firefighters’ exposures to contaminants, heat stress and cardiovascular strain. One question that people are asking is what happens during training fires compared to typical fireground responses,” IFSI Research Program Director Dr. Gavin Horn said. “We’re systematically trying to address varying components of what firefighters encounter.”
Each scenario in the 2016 Cardiovascular and Chemical Exposure Project will focus on three different areas of research.
The team from UL’s Firefighter Safety Research Institute will be measuring thermal conditions in the structures, including testing a new helmet that can map temperatures and heat flux inside the burning building.
NIOSH team members will collect data—including PPE and skin wipes as well as blood, urine and breath samples—in their continued effort to understand the results of chemical exposure to firefighters.
The third area to be studied includes the impact of firefighter training on the firefighter’s cardiovascular system, led by the IFSI Research, Skidmore College and UIC team.