Veteran firefighters are more capable of handling heat than the new recruits, according to a University of Ottawa study.
Researchers said that older firefighters become resistant to heat due to repeated exposure at their work front over the course of time. They have the ability to work in challenging and stress-related work environments.
On the other hand, the young firefighters are vulnerable to heat and tend to finish their tasks quickly.
For the study, the researchers examined a group of 51-year-olds (physically active non-firefighters and firefighters) in two heat stress conditions to find out the thermal, cardiovascular and hydration effects of frequent heat stress at job front.
While both the groups performed equally in the experiment, the researchers found that the physically active non-firefighters experienced more heat and found the task to be more physically challenging than the firefighters.
"We found that the firefighters experienced reduced subjective feelings of thermal and cardiovascular strain during exercise compared to the non-firefighters, potentially indicative of greater heat resilience in firefighters due to the nature of their occupation," Glen P. Kenny, PhD, a professor at the School of Human Kinetics and study investigator, said in a press release.
This finding contradicts previous studies that showed that a person's ability to confront heat and work in hot environments decreases with age. This is the first study that has concentrated on veteran firefighters.
"If you have older workers who work in the heat, they are in a better position to handle working in the heat as compared to their non-heat-exposed counterparts," said Kenny. "If they can better handle the heat stress, they can better perform challenging tasks without putting themselves at greater risks of injuries caused by impairments in mental function, alertness, concentration, motor dexterity and coordination."
The study has been published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene in December.
