Contributors

"There is a serious danger that fire policy will be developed on the basis of work carried out in the context of the market place rather than being underpinned by research which has been subjected to full process of academic rigour and peer review" Professor D Drysdale (European Vice-Chair, International Association of Fire Safety Sciences) and D T Davis (Chair of the Executive Committee, Institution of Fire Engineers). Fire Engineers Journal 61, 10, 6-7

Eady, T. (1995) ‘Mid-Life Crisis’ In Fitness Within The Fire Service Workforce, http://www.fitting-in.com/eady.htm

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SUMMARY

The purpose of this report is two fold. Firstly, it was completed by the author as his submission as a work related report as part of the JOA Course at the Fire Service College, and the opinions expressed are his own and not that of the West Sussex Fire Brigade.

Secondly, to illustrate the physiological decline of the body due to the process of ageing. To relate this process to Fire Service lifestyle and activity, the ultimate aim being to educate personnel into the early establishment of behaviour and exercise habits beneficial both to physical performance and good health.

Physiological and performance capability generally declines after about 30 years of age. The rates of decline in .the various functions differ however, and are significantly influenced by many factors, including the level of physical activity.

It appears that regular physical training enables older personnel to retain higher levels of functional capacity (than sedentary counterparts), especially in cardiovascular functions.

The magnitude of the improvements achieved by regular physical training depends on many factors including initial fitness level, age, type and amount of training.

Personnel, as they advance through their career's and are promoted into more sedentary roles within the Service, must embark on and maintain regular worthwhile physical activities and integrate these into their daily workloads. These actions, along with a healthy lifestyle and the habits formed throughout life, will produce the significant benefit of good health - a priceless commodity.

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction Physical Factors and Ageing

2.1 Strength

2.2 Neural Function

2.3 Cardiovascular Function

2.4 Respiratory Function

2.5 Body Composition

2.6 Summary of Physiological Functions

3.0 Fire Service Lifestyle and Activity

4.0 Information and Data Collection

4.1 Questionnaire

4.2 Results and Analysis

5.0 Recommendations

6.0 Appendices

7.0 References

8.0 Bibliography

9.0 Acknowledgements

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INTRODUCTION

There is no question that the physiology and performance capabilities of older personnel differ from those of young adult recruits. What is not so clear, however, the extent to which these differences are due to true biological ageing, or are the results of sociological restraints that alter the lifestyles and activity opportunities for personnel as they grow older.

If an active lifestyle is continued throughout life and into later years, a relatively high level of function is retained and vigorous activity can be engaged in successfully and safely, with associated benefits in mental agility also.

2.0 PHYSICAL FACTORS AND AGEING

2.1 Strength: Firefighters have always maintained strength performance at above average levels. Generally strength potential is maintained more easily than cardiovascular performance, which can be lost in a third of the time it took to achieve.

Maximum strength of men and women is generally achieved between the ages of 20 - 30, at the time when muscular cross-section is usually the largest. Thereafter there is a progressive decline in strength for most muscle groups. This is due primarily to a reduced muscle mass (3 % every decade after the age of 25) that reflects a loss of total muscle protein brought about by inactivity, ageing or both.

Indirect evidence indicates that habitual physical training facilitates protein retention and thus delays strength decrement with ageing.

2.2 Neural Function: Directly associated with muscular activity is reaction time. Reaction time is divided into central processing time (brain) and muscle reaction time.

Ageing causes a 37% reduction in the transmitting capacity of the brain/spinal cord, a 10% reduction in nerve conduction velocity and a significant loss in the elastic properties of the connective tissues. In short, ageing affects the ability to detect a stimulus and process the information to produce a response. Automatic responses (ie knee jerk reaction) do not involve processing in the brain and consequently are less affected by the ageing process.

Quick actions and responsiveness are vital elements within effective firefighting. The decline of neural function is gradual, however, research has shown that an active lifestyle may significantly and positively affect movement time at any age, retarding the biological/ageing of certain neuromuscular functions.

2.3 Cardiovascular Function: The most well established age related factor is the decline in maximal heart rate. This apparent age effect is progressive with advancing years and appears to occur to the same extent in both active and Sedentary men and women. Maximum heart rate (beats per min) = 220 - age (years)

As a consequence of a lower maximum heart rate, maximum cardiac output is reduced with age. Also contributing to this reduced blood flow capacity is a reduction in the heart's stroke volume.

Other age related changes in the cardiovascular system include a reduction in peripheral blood flow capacity. This may be due to a decease in the capillary to muscle fibre ratio and reduction in arterial cross sectional area.

Whether the preceding changes in cardiovascular functions are as a direct result of the ageing process per se or of a lack of habitual physical activity, has not been determined. In fact, sedentary living may bring losses in functional capacity that are as great as the effects of ageing itself.

Regular exercise, however, enables older individuals to retain cardiovascular functioning much above age-paired sedentary subjects.

In trials, previously active middle aged personnel followed a regular endurance exercise programme over a 10 year period. The usual 9 - 15 % decline in work capacity and maximum aerobic power was forestalled. In fact, at the age of 55 these active men had maintained the same values for blood pressure, body weight and VO2 max, that were measured a decade earlier.

Respiratory Function: With advancing age, the airways and tissues of the respiratory tract, including the air sacs, become less elastic and more rigid. In addition the chest wall becomes more rigid. As a result there is a decrease in pulmonary lung capacity. In fact, vital capacity (the amount of air moved by maximal inspiration followed by maximal expiration) can decrease as much as 30% by retirement age. There is also a decrease in blood levels of oxygen.

Owing to all these age related factors, as one ages one becomes more susceptible to pneumonia, bronchitis and other pulmonary disorders. Aerobic training improves the conditions and efficiency of breathing muscles so the body can utilise more lung capacity during exercise. Residual volume (that portion of lung capacity that cannot be used) increases with age and inactivity. Regular aerobic training can halve or even reverse this decline and ensure adequate respiration throughout life.

Body Composition: A natural consequence directly related to the ageing process is the change in body composition. From the age of 25, 3% of lean muscle tissue is replaced by fatty tissue every 10 years. Therefore, even if a constant weight is maintained the proportion of lean to fatty tissue will change and the "waistline will expand", as fatty tissue is less dense than muscular tissue.

If this increase in fatty tissue is combined with a decrease in activity the problem will 'expand' and in certain, extreme circumstances obesity will develop.

Once this fatty tissue has accumulated the only way to remove it (bar surgery) is by a programme of dieting and exercise. However, this cannot be achieved overnight, and the later in life it is started the longer it takes to complete. It must be undertaken in a structured and gradual manner to avoid metabolic complications such as weight cycling.

Summary of Physiological Functions: It can be seen from the previous sections that regular physical activity produces physiological improvements regardless of age. The effect of these changes depends on several factors, including initial fitness, status, age and the specific type of training.

With regard to the age factor, it appears that older individuals are not able to improve their strength and endurance capacity to the same extent as younger subjects. So, the message is, start young and keep it up!

3.0 Fire Service Lifestyle And Activity

This can best be quantified by age, rank and responsibility. Firefighters at ages 18 -30 join the Brigade with a high level of fitness and motivation.

The Chelsea Report (1987) stated that fitness levels 1 year into a recruits career were lower than at its inception. As a result. Brigades, including West Sussex, have introduced comprehensive fitness training programmes to address this issue.

All watch personnel are required (compulsorily) to undertake 45 minutes physical training on each shift. This is to incorporate all the basic elements of fitness (cardiovascular, strength, flexibility etc). For this to be undertaken, equipment and time is allocated from the working day.

Officers on day duties are required to undertake physical training on two occasion per week, but no specific time is allocated for this. It is significantly much harder for the day duty officer to set aside time to undertake physical training. However, this is achieved by many officers who skilfully manage their working day. Many officers complete a training session prior to the start of the day and consequently reap the benefits.

The physical role of the fire fighter is at the forefront in the image of the public. However, with the advances in technology and equipment, the physical demands are lessening. So the numbers of occasions which require large degrees of physical effort, even over a short period of time, are less and less frequent. Unfortunately, this can lead to a state of professional arrogance and belief that one's fitness is adequate to tackle anything.

As personnel progress through the ranks the quantity of physical activity is replaced with that of more sedentary duties, albeit still interspersed with the occasional operational incident. The popular tendency is to downgrade the priority of the personal physical training programme below that of the daily workload until physical training is almost non-existent. This, at a time when responsibility is increasing, is deleterious.

It is vital, therefore, that high and middle ranking personnel are encouraged to maintain healthy active lifestyles in order to gain the best from themselves.

At present the Brigade has made attempts to address this with the introduction of an Occupational Health Scheme and a 3 yearly medical for all personnel. At these medicals personnel are checked for blood pressure, "correct" weight, eyesight etc.

Whilst this is a step forward and positive remedial action is taken to assist personnel who fall below set standards, the common assumption if someone is overweight for example, is that they have 3 years before they have to lose the excess weight and are oblivious or ignorant of the consequences of obesity and sedentary lifestyle.

Additionally, no penalty is levied against heavy smokers, who not only risk their own health, but the health of their colleagues.

4.0 Information And Data Collection An example of the circulated questionnaire is given in Appendix 'A' of this report.

The questionnaire was issued not only to watch officers and retained personnel but supervisory officers responsible for training and recruitment, station and senior management.

This was done in order to achieve a complete cross section of personnel within the Brigade.

Replies to the questionnaire were to be anonymous in the hope that a genuine response would be achieved.

4.1 The Questionnaire: The purpose of the questionnaire was to gauge the attitude of personnel towards the fitness standards required in relation to the rank and age of the individual.

Respondents replied by answering simple questions on a 1 - 5 scale, relating to whether they agreed with or disagreed with the question statement.

4.2 Results: The score for the response to each question is represented in the form of a graph in Appendix B at the end of this report.

4.2.1 Question Analysis - to be read in conjunction with questionnaire (Appendix A)

Question 1: All questioned, including officers, agreed conclusively that current fitness standards are adequate for potential recruits to complete training school. This perception was aided by the contributions of middle ranking and senior officers during initial stages of the recruit selection process.

Question 2: In response, personnel questioned felt that it was not realistic for a 55 year old firefighter to maintain the same fitness le