The unique physical stress associated with materials handling, load carriage (including personal protective equipment), operating in confined spaces and hot environments places firefighters under significant physiological strain. As operational techniques and equipment have evolved over time, so too have these demands. To maximise the operational readiness and the health and safety of its workforce, FRNSW sought scientific expertise to ensure its physical employment standards were a bona fide reflection of this evolution. The aim of this research was to facilitate the identification and recruitment of individuals with the physiological attributes essential for contemporary firefighting and thereby sustain its workforce capability whilst simultaneously minimising the risk of injury to personnel and the public it serves.

The first phase of research was a comprehensive review of the demands of firefighting and the identification of essential tasks. This involved 11 Fire Station visits, interviews with 106 firefighters and a workforce survey involving >1000 firefighters. In phase two, 51 firefighters, with a range of skills, ages, body sizes and fitness levels performed work simulations of these tasks under the guidance of subject-matter experts. Analysis of the physiological demands of these tasks led to the generation of criterion tasks that provided a valid prescription for the design of screening tests. These tests were evaluated under controlled laboratory conditions, and then assembled into a prototype physical aptitude test (circuit) reflective of the demands of the criterion tasks. The sequence of tasks in this aptitude test was set to reflect an operational tempo. Finally, the prototype test was trialled on 148 operational firefighters.

The FRNSW project management team are currently finalising the physical employment standard and the protocols for its implementation.