Fitness for Wildland Fire Fighters

Abstract

In brief: Forest Service fire-fighting crews were tested for aerobic fitness, muscular strength and endurance, and body fat. They were also tested on various work tasks such as building a fireline and carrying a 45-lb load, which were chosen to represent common fire-fighting tasks. Age, ethnic, and racial groups were similar in test and work task scores, but women did not score as well as men. The tests correlated to the actual work done, and the author concluded that minimum levels of strength and endurance are needed to perform this work successfully.