Citation

Jeklin AT, Davies HW, Bredin SSD, Perrotta AS, Hives BA, Meanwell L, Warburton DER, Jeklin AT, Davies HW, Bredin SSD, Perrotta AS, Hives BA, Meanwell L, Warburton DER. Int. J. Wildland Fire 2021; 30(6): 467-473.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, International Association of Wildland Fire, Fire Research Institute, Publisher CSIRO Publishing)

DOI

10.1071/WF20094

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study examined the shift parameters that contribute to sleep loss and on-duty fatigue in British Columbia Wildfire Service (BCWS) firefighters using sleep-wake data, work-rest data and alertness and fatigue predictions from a biomathematical model (BMM) of fatigue. A total of 40 firefighters (age: 30.4 ± 11.6 years; 13 F, 26 M) volunteered over a 14-day consecutive fireline deployment, followed by a 3-day rest period, at two separate fires in British Columbia (during the 2015 fire season). Sleep-wake data were obtained using a wrist-worn accelerometer and self-reported sleep logs. Shift start and end times were provided by the BCWS at the completion of the study. Sleep and shift data were manually entered into a validated BMM (Circadian Alertness Simulator) to generate fatigue scores and shift work patterns. Shift duration was the major contributor to fatigue, as 46% (n = 274) of shifts were ≥14 h in length and the average shift length was 13.0 ± 0.62 h. However, none of the firefighters had a high-risk fatigue score (>60). The findings from this study indicated that using a BMM of fatigue can provide important insights into shift-work parameters that contribute to workplace fatigue and sleep loss in wildland firefighters.

Language: en