First Responder Health and Safety Laboratory, Health and Exercise Sciences Department, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, USA.
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2013;10(5):259-69. doi: 10.1080/15459624.2013.769841.
Personal protective clothing (PPC) shields firefighters from thermal and other occupational hazards; however, it also contributes to physiological and perceptual strain. This study examined the effect of clothing layers worn under structural fire fighting turnout gear (TOG) on physiological and perceptual responses during alternating work/recovery cycles and assessed the clothing ensembles' (PPC + base layer) material performance. Values are reported as mean ± standard error of the mean. Ten men (age, 21 ± 0.3 yr; height, 1.74 ± 0.02 m; weight, 74.3 ± 2.3 kg; VO2max, 58.9 ± 2.0 mL/kg/min) completed a 110-min alternating work/recovery walking protocol (three 20-min exercise bouts/10-, 20-, and 20-min recovery sessions) in a thermo-neutral (21.0°C, 58.7% RH) laboratory while wearing a cotton t-shirt (COT) or COT and a station uniform (SU) shirt under fire fighting TOG (COT+TOG and COT+SU+TOG, respectively). Changes in heart rate (HR), core temperature (Tco), skin temperature (Tsk), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and thermal sensations (TS) were compared across exercise and recovery periods. During exercise sessions, HR, Tco, Tsk, and RPE reached similar levels for COT+TOG and COT+SU+TOG. During Recoveries 1, 2, and 3, mean chest Tsk decreased by 3.96, 6.64, and 6.49°C, respectively, for COT+TOG compared with 2.24, 3.78, and 4.09°C for COT+SU+TOG (p < 0.05 for each period). Change in TS differed during Exercise 1; however, mean peak TS corresponded to "hot" for both ensembles. This study demonstrates that the additional layer of clothing in the COT+SU+TOG ensemble imposed no greater level of physiological or perceptual strain during moderate-intensity work bouts compared with the COT+TOG ensemble. However, some modest benefits were experienced during the recovery sessions for the COT+TOG ensemble as evidenced by a lower chest Tsk. In addition, materials performance testing revealed COT+SU+TOG provided greater thermal protection (64.8 ± 1.9 vs. 56.4 ± 0.3 cal/cm(2); p < 0.05) and equivalent heat dissipation compared with COT+TOG. These findings could guide departmental decisions about the use of station shirts.
个人防护服（PPC）可保护消防员免受热和其他职业危害；然而，它也会导致生理和感知压力。本研究考察了在结构消防服（TOG）下穿着的服装层在交替工作/恢复周期中对生理和感知反应的影响，并评估了服装的材料性能。数值以平均值 ± 平均值的标准误差报告。10 名男性（年龄 21 ± 0.3 岁；身高 1.74 ± 0.02 米；体重 74.3 ± 2.3 公斤；最大摄氧量 58.9 ± 2.0 毫升/公斤/分钟）在热中性（21.0°C，58.7%RH）实验室中穿着棉质 t 恤（COT）或 COT 和消防站制服（SU）衬衫在穿着消防战斗 TOG 时完成了 110 分钟的交替工作/恢复步行协议（三个 20 分钟的运动回合/10、20 和 20 分钟的恢复期）（COT+TOG 和 COT+SU+TOG，分别）。在运动和恢复期比较了心率（HR）、核心温度（Tco）、皮肤温度（Tsk）、感知用力（RPE）和热感觉（TS）的变化。在运动期间，COT+TOG 和 COT+SU+TOG 的 HR、Tco、Tsk 和 RPE 达到相似水平。在恢复期 1、2 和 3 中，COT+TOG 的胸部 Tsk 分别下降了 3.96、6.64 和 6.49°C，而 COT+SU+TOG 的胸部 Tsk 分别下降了 2.24、3.78 和 4.09°C（每个时期均为 p < 0.05）。在运动 1 中，TS 发生了变化；然而，对于两个套装，平均峰值 TS 对应于“热”。本研究表明，与 COT+TOG 套件相比，COT+SU+TOG 套件中的额外一层衣物在中等强度的工作回合中不会造成更大的生理或感知压力。然而，COT+TOG 套件在恢复期内的一些适度益处是由于胸部 Tsk 较低。此外，材料性能测试表明，COT+SU+TOG 比 COT+TOG 提供了更大的热保护（64.8 ± 1.9 与 56.4 ± 0.3 cal/cm 2；p < 0.05）和等效的散热能力。这些发现可以指导部门关于使用站服的决策。
