Hi Matthew,

This is a link I found:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39478080

The research was condicted by Edinborough university: http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/

Hi Matthew,

The Circular is available on the Fire Brigades Union website:

https://www.fbu.org.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/Fire%20simulation%20and%20cardiovascular%20health%20in%20firefighters-%20Circulation%204%20April%202017.pdf

Hope this assists you.

Teresa

Many years ago as a Station Officer one of my crew suffered a heart attack while attending a dwelling fire.  He was wearing BA and ventilating the first floor at the time.  The fire was not a particularly hot one.

He made a full recovery, so he was told, and returned to duty some months later.

While attending another fire, this time involving a chip shop cooking range, cooking oil on fire, very hot fire conditions, he had to exit the fire because he thought he was having another heart attack.  This time diagnosed with Angina attack.

Once again he returned to duty.

He was eventually retired early from the service following a second heart attack.

Firefighters do experience high temperatures during close firefighting and I agree with the findings of the report but there are so many other factors to consider.  There is stress experienced at every single incident, not just fires but Road Traffic crashes for instance where people are trapped and need to be released right away to prevent them from further injury, other non fire relates incidents that cause PTSD as I have.

The Government have increased the retirement age for firefighters.  

Finally it it not a nice experience to watch somebody die because you are unable to rescue them in time.

Fire Safety 101 

Many thanks for sharing your experience, and i agree with your sentiments, especially around the PTSD, and elevated stress. In the report it talks about this, and how the 'training' environment was not best suited for monitoring real life exposures, 

It does state tha tfurther studies are required outside a fire training facility to assess the effects of real-life fire suppression that will encompass the additional triggers of pyscological stress .... 

I am not in the firefighting arean, but the report has some very useful synergies to understanding heat stress and exposure, and the learnings can be applied in other industries where routine exposure to heat stress occurs. 

many thanks 

Matt