Heat strain of Japanese firefighters wearing personal protective equipment: a review for developing a test method

The aim of this review was to develop a test method for the evaluation of heat strain for structural firefighters wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) in Japan. We analysed a series of our laboratory’s questionnaires and experimental studies and reviewed international standards on test methods. We investigated the actual average working conditions (total firefighting time on one incidence, working time with full PPE, maximum temperature and humidity during firefighting) at structural firefighting site in Japan by conducting a large-scale questionnaire survey of Japanese firefighters. We discussed test subjects (firefighters vs. non-firefighters; body size; physical fitness), exercise intensity (absolutes vs. relative; light vs. heavy) and duration, experimental temperature and relative humidity, experimental clothing items including station uniforms (shorts vs. long), and measurement variables (physiological and subjective responses), and suggested a standard test method to evaluate the heat strain of firefighters in hot and humid environments. Practitioner summary: We reviewed studies on human wear trials of firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) in hot environments and suggested a standard test method to evaluate the heat strain of firefighters. The test method can be internationally utilised to examine the comfort functions and heat stress of PPE in hot, humid environments.