FEMA Fire Grant to Assess Heat Stress in Firefighters
Awarded to University of Pittsburgh
Mike Dortenzo, EMT-B, Chief, Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Department, O’Hara Township takes part in the FEMA FIRE grant project at the University
of Pittsburgh, department of emergency medicine’s specially-designed Emergency
Responder Human Performance Lab. Assisting him is David Hostler, Ph.D., NREMT-P., research assistant professor,
University of Pittsburgh Department of Emergency Medicine and Guyasuta volunteer
firefighter and Jennifer Seitz.
UPMC studies best ways to cool off firefighters
Sudden cardiac arrest the leading cause of death in firefighters throughout the
U.S.
Monday, July 06, 2009
By Jess Eagle, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After putting out a fire in a burning building tomorrow, groups of firefighters
from across the county will sit in lawn chairs, put on special vests and get into
air-conditioned cars.
They will be participating in a study of cooling equipment designed to reduce
the risk of sudden cardiac arrests, the leading cause of death in firefighters
nationwide.
The study, done by UPMC, will send groups of three or four participating firefighters
into the Allegheny County Fire Academy's "Burn Building," which often is set ablaze
for training simulations. After they put out the fire, participants will cool
down using one of three techniques, known as rehabilitation.
David Hostler, one of the three UPMC doctors conducting the study, described
the first technique as "a lawn chair you would bring to a soccer game," but with
hollowed out spaces in the chair's arms for bags of water, which cool the forearms.
The next is a vest with piping that pumps water from a cooler into the tubing
sewn into the vest. It is also used by NASCAR drivers to keep their body temperatures
down during races.
The last technique, known as natural cooling, simply has participants sit or
stand in air-conditioned vehicles.
Dr. Hostler, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of
Pittsburgh and director of the Emergency Responder Human Performance Lab, said
most firefighters who experience cardiac arrest from overheating do so in the
hours after putting out a fire.
Leaving a scene, most firefighters have body temperatures of 100 degrees or more.
Dr. Hostler has seen some reach more than 103 degrees.
"It's not rare for people in their 20s and 30s to experience cardiac arrest with
this job."
Though some fire departments in the area already use one of the three techniques,
most use fans, Dr. Hostler said. And while fans work on cool days, they can be
dangerous on hot days, actually raising a person's body temperature.
The Mt. Lebanon Fire Department uses both misting fans and the chairs with arm
cooling. Chief Nicholas Sohyda said their procedures are rare for Allegheny County
because they follow the National Fire Protection Association's standards.
"There's a lot of opinions, and I'm not exactly sure whose are the best," Chief
Sohyda said. "There's even discussions whether you should drink cold water or
room temperature water."
The department has two to four chairs, he said, and they only use them about
once a month in the summer.
"We don't particularly go to that many fires here. They could probably use [the
chairs] daily in the city of Pittsburgh, though," he said.
Under NFPA standards, firefighters must stay in a rehabilitation tent until their
vital signs and blood pressure indicate that they are cool enough to continue.
The NFPA also suggests annual physicals and stress tests, which the Mt. Lebanon
department follows.
Firefighters in the county are required only to have a physical every two years,
said Bob Full, chief of Allegheny County emergency services.
He added that he would like to see more departments adopting NFPA standards.
The reason that some don't is the same reason that some are skeptical of new rehabilitation
procedures.
"There's no downside except that it requires additional manpower. I would certainly
like to see it implemented, but it really comes down to the individual departments,"
Chief Full said. "I know how noble and gallant they are, but at the same time,
we have an aging work force in fire service."
Dr. Hostler has been a volunteer firefighter for more than 20 years. He currently
volunteers at the Guyasuta Fire Department in O'Hara and has known friends in other departments who have died of cardiac arrest after
leaving a scene.
"This is hard field to get money for," he said. "It's important to firefighters,
but to other people it's not."
Tomorrow's simulation is the final phase of the doctors' two-year study. There
is only one other academic study that has produced literature in the world, Dr.
Hostler said. That study, done in Toronto, Canada, focused on firefighters' body
temperatures on hot days only.
"There are no good guidance documents. ... We don't know which technique is superior
over the other," Dr. Hostler said.
About 20 firefighters had signed up to participate in the study as of late last
week, but Dr. Hostler said they're still recruiting more.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing the results," Chief Full said. "We will
actually have solid information to make those informed policy and procedure changes
down the road."
Once the study is done, the doctors hope their results, which will be posted
for free online, will help fire departments across the country -- and even the
world.
"If that rehab becomes more regimented in fire service, hopefully we can save
lives," Dr. Hostler said.
Pitt Study Helps Firefighters Learn to Play It Cool
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Allison Heinrichs
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Wearing 80 pounds of firefighter gear and breathing through an air tank, Lt. Chris Martin walked at a fast clip on an inclined treadmill.
In one minute, his heart rate had doubled and sweat began dripping down his brow.
But the Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Department firefighter continued to endure the
grueling workout. Even though he wasn't running into a fire, he was helping to
save lives.
Martin is among the first Allegheny County firefighters to participate in a trial
aimed at developing the best ways to reduce heart problems from exposure to heat
stress. Last month, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Allegheny
County Fire Academy received a $222,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency for the two-year study.
Pitt was among eight to receive a research grant out of more than 2,900 applications.
A National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study released in July
showed sudden cardiac death to be the most common cause of line-of-duty deaths
among firefighters, killing about 45 every year.
"I'm young now," said Martin, 23, of O'Hara. "But I'm sure in about 20 years,
I'm going to have to start worrying."
David Hostler, an assistant professor with Pitt's department of emergency medicine, plans
to put 20 to 40 firefighters through 10 tests during the next 18 months at the
university's Emergency Responder Human Performance Lab in Oakland.
Hostler, himself a volunteer firefighter, records the vital statistics -- blood
pressure, body temperature, weight -- of the firefighters before, during and after
the workouts. He then gives them water, Gatorade or intravenous fluids and tries
different methods to bring down their body temperature. He's looking for the most
effective way to rehydrate and cool firefighters at the scene of a fire.
Next year he'll take the methods to the Allegheny County Fire Training Academy
and have paramedics test them on firefighters responding to a controlled burn.
"At the end of it, we will basically be able to put out a how-to manual to fire
departments across the nation," Hostler said.
Firefighters typically work in two 30-minute shifts during fires. After the first
shift, they leave the fire to cool down and rehydrate to relieve cardiac and heat
stress. But protocol on how to do this varies, with some firefighters simply sitting
down and chugging water.
If they don't cool down to a sufficient degree and replenish their fluids, firefighters'
hearts will have to work harder during the second 30-minute shift, increasing
the risk of a heart attack, Hostler said.
After he compiles the results of his study and publishes his manual, Hostler
said it still will be a challenge to get firefighters -- who tend to view resting
as a sign of weakness -- to follow it.
"You're talking about trying to change a culture that has 200 years of tradition,"
he said. "That can be tough."
FEMA Fire Grant to Assess Heat Stress in Firefighters Awarded to University of
Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH, August 21, 2007 — Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s department of emergency medicine, in collaboration with the Allegheny County Fire Academy, have received a Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Fire Prevention and Safety grant to conduct
a study designed to develop optimal methods of reducing acute cardiovascular risk
resulting from exposure to heat stress during fire suppression.
According to a July 2007 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) report, sudden cardiac death represents the most common cause of line-of-duty
deaths among firefighters, killing approximately 45 each year. It is suspected
that many of these deaths are triggered by heat stress, which can be caused by
exposure to the fire and the use of personal protective garments.
The report also found that, for firefighters, coronary artery disease and sudden
cardiac death involve a combination of personal and work-related factors. Personal
factors can include age, gender, family history, diabetes, hypertension, smoking,
high cholesterol, obesity and lack of exercise. Work-related factors can include
exposure to fire smoke, heavy physical exertion, heat stress and other physical
stresses.
“The Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services through the County Fire
Training Academy is pleased to work with the University of Pittsburgh’s department
of emergency medicine to enhance fire safety and reduce the amount of line-of-duty
deaths among fire and rescue workers,” said Robert A. Full, Chief of Emergency Services and Fire Marshal, Allegheny County. “What an advantage it is to have the resources of a world-class health organization
available to us in order to perform our jobs to the best of our ability.”
The two-year study, known as the Fire ground Rehab Evaluation (FIRE) Trial, will assess the best methods for maintaining the health and safety of
firefighters while in the line of duty, called fire ground rehabilitation.
Currently, fire ground rehabilitation is inconsistent across the profession due
to size and scope of each organization. Changing behavior can be difficult especially
in the fire and rescue community, where taking a break can be viewed as a sign
of weakness.
“During the FIRE trial, we will be looking for the right threshold at which fire
ground rehabilitation should be administered and investigating the efficacy of
different methods of rehabilitation that can be administered at fire scenes. The
study is designed to improve firefighter health and safety by providing an improved
understanding of the mechanisms of heat stress and its effects on the heart. We
anticipate that the study will result in improved methods of prevention and treatment
of heat-related cardiovascular stress that can be adopted by fire departments
across the United States,” said David Hostler, Ph.D., NREMT-P, research assistant professor, University
of Pittsburgh department of emergency medicine and volunteer firefighter of the
Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Department, O’Hara Township.
Firefighters from the Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Department and other departments across Allegheny County will be tested in the department
of emergency medicine’s specially-designed Emergency Responder Human Performance
Lab. Physiological monitoring will include pulse, heart rate, blood pressure and
core body temperature, while at rest and during exercise and while wearing the
firefighter protective clothing. Blood samples will be taken before and after
exercise to look for elevations in chemicals that promote blood clotting and are
associated with increased cardiovascular risk. After exercise, various cooling
and hydration treatments will be administered (e.g., oral fluids versus IV fluids,
cooling blankets) to determine the most practical and effective method to reduce
cardiovascular risk among firefighters. Similar tests will be performed during
exposure to fire, smoke and heat when the firefighters are training at the Allegheny County Fire Academy.
Co-investigators of this trial include Joe Suyama, M.D., assistant professor
of emergency medicine and Steven Reis, M.D., associate vice-chancellor for clinical
research, health sciences, and professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Reis is a volunteer firefighter and medical officer of the Guyasuta Volunteer
Fire Department.
Upon completion of the study, a list of recommendations will be given to the
FEMA Assistance to Firefighter Program to be implemented by fire departments across
the country looking to establish fire and EMS rehabilitation protocols.
Further information about this study can be obtained by contacting Dr. Hostler
at 412-647-3078.
Mike Dortenzo, EMT-B, Chief, Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Department, O’Hara Township takes part in the FEMA FIRE grant project at the University
of Pittsburgh, department of emergency medicine’s specially-designed Emergency
Responder Human Performance Lab. Assisting him is David Hostler, Ph.D., NREMT-P.,
research assistant professor, University of Pittsburgh Department of Emergency
Medicine and volunteer firefighter with the Guyasuta V.F.D. and Jennifer Seitz.
Jennifer Seitz and Mike Gallagher attend to Chief Mike Dortenzo in the Emergency Responder Human Performance Lab, Department of Emergency Medicine
Members of the Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Dept. take part in a routine fire drill at RIDC Park in O’Hara Township
A member of the Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Dept lowers his fellow fireman to safety during a mock rescue drill at RIDC Park
Guyasuta Fire Department Day
Guyasuta VFD Chief Mike Dortenzo's
Duo scorches competition with firefighting skills
By Jessica Bruni, Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Last month, Cory Gonder and Orie List won the state Skills USA Fire fighting
Championship in Lancaster and qualified for nationals.
But last Friday, while hanging out at Colton fire hall before a fish fry dinner,
the Penn-Trafford juniors were more than modest about what they've done.
Cory's father, firefighter Russ Gonder, says they shouldn't be so humble. He
calls the boys the pride of Claridge.
"This is a very small community," he says. "They've kind of put the Claridge
fire department on the map."
As students at Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center, both teens
are enrolled in the Protective Services program, which teaches firefighting, EMS
and police skills.
After winning a district firefighting skills championship as a team earlier this
year, the boys moved on the state competition in March. As part of the event,
Cory says, they had to travel up and down ladders, as well as demonstrate a variety
of knots and hoist tools into the building -- which was not burning.
Cory says he was surprised when he and Orie swept the competition.
"States were awesome. It was a huge surprise."
For his part, Orie says his legs felt like Jell-O as the winners were announced.
"It was hard to walk," he admits.
Both boys credit their vo-tech teacher, Mike Dortenzo, for teaching them the skills needed to win the competition.
"He's good. He makes everything fun to do," Corry says.
The national championship will be held in Kansas City in June. If the boys win,
then it will be off to Europe for the international competition later this year.
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