The effect of artificial smoke compound on physiological responses, cognitive functions and work performance during firefighting activities in a smoke-diving room: an intervention study

Abstract

This study investigated the combined effect of firefighting operations and exposure to smoke on physiological responses, cognitive functions and physical performance among firefighters. Each firefighter was engaged in two experimental conditions: (a) without artificial smoke, control (NS); (b) with artificial smoke (WS). The results of data analysis revealed that heart rate and body temperature increased significantly after the firefighting activities in the two conditions relative to baseline. In addition, reaction time (RT) and correct response (CR) decreased after the activity relative to baseline and there was a significant difference in RT and CR between the NS and WS conditions. There was also a significant difference in performance time between the NS and WS conditions. These findings demonstrated that a smoke compound has an insignificant effect on physiological responses during firefighting activity. On the contrary, the smoke compound has a detrimental influence on cognitive and physical performance.

Keywords:

• artificial smoke compound
• firefighter
• smoke-diving room
• physiological responses
• cognitive function
• performance time

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Hamadan University of Medical Sciences for their financial support. The authors also wish to thank the staff of Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC), particularly the head of the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Department, for their invaluable support during this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Majid Motamedzade http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8545-5845

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Hamedan University of Medical Sciences and was conducted in partnership with the Iranian National Petrochemical Company.