To assess the post-implementation impact of the Canadian Type 1 Wildland Fire Fighter (WFF) Fitness Test Circuit (WFX-FIT), a retrospective descriptive analysis of anonymized aggregate data collected between 2012–2016 was conducted.
OBJECTIVES:
The objectives were to examine the pass rates of Type 1 WFF in each fire jurisdiction and on the standard for exchanging Type 1 WFF between agencies, the interagency exchange standard, by age group and sex and to propose what other information could be of value in assessing the effectiveness of implementing a physical employment standard.
METHODS:
Frequencies and pass rate percentages were compared by sex and age groups (<40 years, ≥40 years).
RESULTS:
Between 2012–2016, pass rates for all participants on the jurisdictional and interagency exchange performance standards improved from 93.2% to 95.6% and 79.1% to 87.6%, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS:
We conclude that since the WFX-FIT was implemented, there has been an increase in the number of exchange-eligible Type 1 WFF for suppression of wildfires in Canada.
GumieniakRJ, GledhillN, JamnikVK. Physical employment standard for canadian wildland fire fighters; developing and validating the test protocol. Ergonomics. 2018a;1–13. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2018.1462408.
2.
Supreme Court of Canada; British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission v BCGSEU). 1999. 3 S.C.R.3 (Meiorin Decision).
3.
GumieniakRJ, GledhillN, JamnikVK. Physical employment standard for canadian wildland fire fighters; examining test-retest reliability and the impact of familiarization and physical fitness training. Ergonomics. 2018b;1–10. doi:10.1080/00140139.2018.1464213.
4.
GledhillN, JamnikVK. Development of fitness screening protocols for physically demanding occupations. Canadian Journal of Sport Sciences. 1992;17(3):222–7.
5.
SothmannMS, LandyF, SaupeKW. Age as a bona fide occupational qualification for firefighting: A review on the importance of measuring aerobic power. Journal of Occupational Medicine. 1992;26–33.
6.
JacksonAS. Preemployment physical evaluation. Exercise Sport Science Review. 1994;22:54–90.
7.
BonneauJ, BrownJ. Physical ability, fitness and police work. Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine. 1995;2:157–64.
8.
GledhillN, BonneauJ. Objectives, Process and Consensus Summary of the National Forum on Bona Fide Occupational Requirements. In Proceedings of the Consensus Forum on Establishing BONA FIDE Requirements for Physically Demanding Occupations. Toronto, Ontario. 2001, pp. 13–6.
9.
TaylorNAS, BillingDC. Physiological and Physical Employment Standards I: Proceedings of the First Australian Conference on Physical Employment Standards. Edited by NAS Taylor and DC Billing. 2012. Wollongong Australia: University of Wollongong.
10.
GrahamTE, PetersenSR. The second international conference on physical employment standards: An international perspective. Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism. 2016;41:3–4. doi:10.1139/h02-016
.
11.
CIFFC. Canada Fire Report. 2015.
12.
WarburtonDER, GledhillN, JamnikVK, BredinSSD, McKenzieDC, StoneJ, CharlesworthS, ShephardRJ. International launch of the PAR-Q+ and ePARmed-X+ the physical activity readiness questionnaire (PAR-Q+) and electronic physical activity readiness medical examination (EPARmed-X+): Summary of consensus panel recommendations. Health and Fitness Journal of Canada. 2011;4(2):26–37.
13.
KennyGP, GroellerH, McginnR, FlourisAD. Age, human performance and physical employment standards. Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism. 2016;41:S92–108.
14.
ReillyTJ, GebhardtDL, BillingDC, GreevesJP, SharpMA. Development and implementation of evidence-based physical employment standards: Key challenges in the military context. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2015;29(11):S28–33. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001105
.
15.
PetersenSR, AndersonGS, TiptonMJ, DochertyD, GrahamTW, SharkeyBJ, TaylorNAS. Towards best practice in physical and physiological employment standards. Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism. 2016;41:S47–62. doi:10.1139/apnm-2016-0003
.
16.
PhillipsMA, PetersenC, AbbissR, NettoR, PayneW, NicholsD, AisbettB. Pack hike test finishing time for australian firefighters: Pass rates and correlates of performance. Applied Ergonomics. 2011;42(3):411–8. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2010.08.020
.
17.
SpivockM, MattieP, LeeJ. The Warrior Fitness Training Program: A Follow-up Study on Recruits Who Were Unable to Attain the Baseline Physical Empoyment Standard upon Entry to the Canadian Forces. In Physiological and Physical Employment Standards I: Proceedings of the First Austrailian Conference on Physiological and Physical Employment Standards, edited by NAS Taylor and DC Billing. Canberra, Australia: University of Wollongong. 2012, pp. 80–2.
18.
GumieniakR, JamnikVK, GledhillN. Physical fitness bona fide occupational requirements for safety-related physically demanding occupations; test development considerations. Health and Fitness Journal of Canada. 2011;4(2):47–52.
19.
JamnikVK, ThomasSG, GledhillN. Applying the meiorin decision requirements to the fitness test for correctional officer applicants; examining adverse impact and accommodation. Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism. 2010;35(1):71–81. doi:10.1139/H09-123
.
20.
JamnikVK, GumieniakR, GledhillN. Developing legally defensible physiological employment standards for prominent physically demanding public safety occupations: A canadian perspective. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2013;113(10):2447–57. doi:10.1007/s00421-013-2603-1
.
21.
MilliganGS, ReillyTJ, TiptonMJ. A Review of the Fitness Standard for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution Boat Crew. In Physiological and Physical Employment Standards I: Proceedings of the First Austrailian Conference on Physiological and Physical Employment Standards, edited by NAS Taylor and DC Billing. Canberra, Australia: University of Wollongong. 2012, pp. 14–5.
22.
LuntH. A pre-joining fitness test improves pass rates of royal navy recruits. Occupational Medicine. 2007;57(5):377–9. doi:10.1093/occmed/kqm022
.
23.
ShephardRJ. The Costs and Benefits of Exercise: An Industrial Perspective. In Fitness for the Aged, Disabled, and Industrial Worker, edited by Masahiro Kaneko, 20th ed. Champlain, Illinois: Human Kinetics, 1990, pp. 189–205.
