RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WEARING TIME PERIOD AND MOVING QUANTITY OF FIREMAN'S TURNOUTS BASED ON A SCENARIO OF FIRE

Abstract

Fireman's turnouts are highly heat-resistant clothes of closed type because the turnouts should be resistant to heat and flame. It has been demonstrated by our experiments that wearing of such closed type clothes causes excessive heat stress to firemen. A questionnaire was conducted on firemen in order to get information how they feel when they wear turnouts on the actual fire spot. Further, through a hearing survey, we grasped the actual conditions of wearing and investigated issues to be improved. At the same time, a scenario of model fire was prepared according to a practice of fire fighting by firemen. Using this scenario, labor load of firemen with their turnouts during a fire fighting activity was analyzed to seize conditions of the heat stress when they fight with a fire. Results thus obtained are as in the following. 1. Results of the questionnaire showed that it takes about one hour to extinguish a fire after firemen are called out in the case of a fire of general wooden houses (level of partiial destruction or a small fire). 2. The fire stress is settled on the basis of personal responsibility of each fireman. Somefireman breaks down his health condition due to the heat stress even after a fire fighting activity for one hour or so. 3. It is necessary to take measures for heat stress in summer time at a temperature over 30C. This fact corresponds to results of the questionnaire.