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Research Article: Firefighter Health: A Narrative Review of Occupational Threats and Countermeasures

Date Published: 2024-02-08

Abstract:
Structural firefighters are responsible for protecting properties and saving lives during emergency operations. Despite efforts to prepare firefighters for these hazardous occupational demands, the unfortunate reality is that the incidence of health morbidities is increasing within the fire service. Specifically, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mental health disorders are among the most documented morbidities in firefighters. Pubmed and Google Scholar search engines were used to identify peer-reviewed English language manuscripts that evaluated firefighters’ occupational health threats, allostatic factors associated with their occurrence, and evidence-based strategies to mitigate their impact. This narrative review provides fire departments, practitioners, and researchers with evidence-based practices to enhance firefighters’ health.

Introduction:
Structural firefighters (referred to as “firefighters” herein) perform dangerous occupational tasks to preserve life and property. Despite the inherent occupational hazards, firefighters are increasingly exposed to agents that affect physical and mental health outcomes. These health issues negatively impact quality of life, contribute to line- and non-line-of-duty deaths, and force retirements. Many of these effects have been previously documented, and our theoretical framework focuses on the role of allostatic…

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