Development of minimal physical fitness test standards for firefighters

The primary purpose of this study was to identify the physical fitness variables and levels of the significant variables that best distinguish firefighters with acceptable or unacceptable performance times on simulated firefighting tasks. Second, this study was conducted to determine the amount of variance in performance time on a simulated firefighting task that may be explained by physical fitness test performance. A representative sample of 81 experienced professional firefighters (approximately 75% of the target population stratified based on age and sex) from a Mountain West fire department were included in the study sample. Participants completed a battery of physical fitness tests (3-site skinfold measures, 1.5-mile-run, 1 repetition maximum bench press divided by body weight, vertical jump, grip strength, sit-ups, push-ups, and sit-and-reach test), and a simulated firefighting task scenario (SFTS).;Signal detection analysis showed lower-body muscular power as the physical fitness variable able to best discriminate between firefighters able to complete the SFTS in an acceptable, empirical, task force-defined time (chi 2 = 24.65, p < 0.001). Firefighters with a vertical jump greater or equal to 17.00 inches were more likely to complete the SFTS in 8:30 minutes or less (95.60% passing rate) than firefighters with a vertical jump less than 17.00 inches (46.20% passing rate). A multivariate analysis of variance revealed significantly better (p < 0.05) ratings of upper body muscular strength, muscle endurance, grip strength, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory fitness, in addition to vertical jump, in the subgroup of firefighters achieving a vertical jump of 17.00 inches or greater. A multiple regression analysis suggested that approximately 50.03% of the variance in SFTS performance time could be explained by the complete battery of physical fitness variables, with significant contributions to the explained variance coming via flexibility, grip strength, and percent body fat (p < 0.05).;The current study extends previous research regarding the validation of minimal acceptable physical fitness standards to a specific physical fitness variable that is a significant discriminant of acceptable firefighting performance. The frequent assessment of vertical jump performance may help identify firefighters with physical fitness levels indicative of potentially unacceptable occupational performance and poor physical fitness overall.