Scientists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are researching the physiological and biomechanical effects of boot weight on male and female firefighters. Participants were recruited from Morgantown, W.V., Maryland, Virginia, and Ohio. These firefighters were tested for oxygen consumption, joint movement, and walking patterns while carrying a backpack and wearing a pair of randomly assigned rubber boots (2 models), leather boots (2 models) or safety shoes (baseline). The boots tested in the study were boots that the National Fire Protection Association and firefighters reported as commonly used.

Preliminary findings suggest that firefighters adjusted their walking patterns and postures when wearing heavy firefighter boots. They walked slower, took wider steps and for each stride they took, the percentage of time when both feet were in contact with the floor was longer with heavier boots, suggesting that they need more time to balance their body during walking. Female firefighters tended to walk slower and take smaller steps than male firefighters.

Boot weight was found to affect the way study participants naturally move their lower bodies. The boots limited firefighters’ ankle, knee and hip motions, and such restrictions may affect their ability to perform tasks efficiently, such as maintaining balance or crossing obstacles effectively during firefighting.

An increase in boot weight also can affect firefighters’ energy expenditure and breathing. In the study, firefighters performed two exercise tasks: walking on a treadmill while carrying a hose and climbing a revolving staircase. For both tasks, firefighters’ oxygen consumption and heart rate were significantly greater when wearing rubber boots as compared with leather boots. Such increases in breathing and energy expenditure could decrease the duration of a firefighter’s SCBA in an actual fire.

Further research will investigate the effects of different types of firefighter boot soles and the effect of boot weight on walking over obstacles.

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