National firefighters conference
19 February 2010
Over 100 people from fire services throughout the UK attended a recent conference held at the headquarters of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.
The conference, jointly organised by MFRS and the Research Institute for Sport & Exercise Sciences (RISES) at LJMU, focused on the impact of heat stress and recovery strategies on the physiological and psychological responses in firefighters. The conference comprised speakers from MFRS, RISES and other leading experts from around the country.
The conference followed completion of a 3-year research project undertaken by Dr Dave Barr, Professor Tom Reilly and Dr Warren Gregson (RISES). The research, funded by the Fire and Rescue Service Research Training Trust and commissioned by MFRS served to develop effective cooling strategies for reducing the physiological strain in firefighters following strenuous operational duties. The implementation of the cooling strategies places MFRS at the forefront of pioneering support for the health benefits and safety of its personnel. This project was sufficiently imaginative to draw the attention of the offices of government departments and has also brought about policy change on Merseyside for the way firefighters recover following prolonged operational incidences. These guidelines are likely to be adopted on national scale in the coming months.
MFRS Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Bill Evans, said: “We believe the findings from this research will help us to make our firefighters safer at major incidents and more able to deal with operating under high temperatures”.
The research has led to the launch of the ‘Cool Van’, a mobile recovery unit which carries a range of vital equipment for the physiological rehabilitation of firefighters at major incidences. The Cool Van, which is available 24 hours a day on request by incident commanders, incorporates the very latest technology for helping our firefighters reduce their own body temperatures, helping them to bring down their stress levels down at a faster rate compared to the current recovery strategies.
Pictured, left to right: Bill Evans (MFRS), Professor Don MacLaren (RISES), Professor George Havenith (Loughborough University), Ken Rose (Fire and Rescue Service Research Training Trust), Dr Warren Gregson (RISES), Chris Kerr (Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service), Paul Murphy (MFRS). Front row: Professor Terry McMorris (University of Chichester and University of Edinburgh), Dr Dave Barr (RISES)
