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Home / Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Volume 64, Number 4

The Validity and Reliability of a Treadmill Test for Structural Firefighter Applicants

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Objective:

This 2-part study evaluated validity and reliability of a treadmill test for structural firefighters.Methods:

Wearing fire protective ensemble, 260 participants walked at 1.56 m-s–1, completing a 5-min warm-up, an 8-min stage at a 5.71° incline, then graded stages to exhaustion. In Part 2, 21 participants completed the test on 3 separate days under standardized conditions.Results:

Average (±SD) oxygen uptake (V˙O2) during minutes 1 – 13 was similar to reported values for simulated fire-rescue work. During the 13th min, V˙O2 was consistent with V˙O2peak recommendations for firefighters in Part 2, exercise duration increased between trials 1 and 2 before stabilizing but V˙O2peak was consistent.Conclusions:

Congruence with reported V˙O2 during simulated firefighting and recommendations for V˙O2peak confirmed validity. Acceptable test-retest reliability was demonstrated. We conclude that the test is valid and reliable for evaluating cardiorespiratory endurance for firefighting.

Keywords: cardiorespiratory endurance; physical employment standards; physiological aptitude; structural firefighting; treadmill test

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H9∗ (Mr Scarlett, Mr Ehnes, Dr Petersen), Faculty of Law, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H5 (Dr Adams), School of Health and Life Sciences, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T5G 2R1 (Dr Dreger). 2: Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H9∗ (Mr Scarlett, Mr Ehnes, Dr Petersen), Faculty of Law, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H5 (Dr Adams), School of Health and Life Sciences, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T5G 2R1 (Dr Dreger). 3: Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H9∗ (Mr Scarlett, Mr Ehnes, Dr Petersen), Faculty of Law, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H5 (Dr Adams), School of Health and Life Sciences, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T5G 2R1 (Dr Dreger).

Publication date: 16 April 2022

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