OBJECTIVE The etiology of sarcoidosis is unknown, but epidemiology suggests that environmental agents are a factor. Because firefighters are exposed to numerous toxins, we questioned whether sarcoidosis was increased in this cohort. SETTING The New York City Fire Department (FDNY), employing > 11,000 firefighters and nearly 3,000 emergency medical services (EMS) health-care workers (HCWs). ...

BACKGROUND Many professional emergency responders (ERs) who belong to the Korean National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have been cross-trained and serve multiple roles. As such, firefighters and other ERs in Korea are exposed to similar occupational hazards. This study was conducted to estimate cancer morbidity in male ERs and compare that with Korean men. METHODS The cohort was compris...

A fire breaks out on a graph and f firefighters protect f vertices. At each subsequent time step the fire spreads to all adjacent unprotected vertices and firefighters protect f unburned (and unprotected) vertices. On the strong grid, three firefighters cannot restrict the fire to one quadrant, but four firefighters suffice to contain the fire. Further, if the strong grid goes unprotected to ti...

INTRODUCTION National guidelines state that health care professionals (HCPs) should advise patients on the importance of maintaining a healthy weight. Firefighters have high rates of obesity, and cardiovascular events are the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths in firefighters. This study assessed the association of age and body mass index (BMI) with HCP weight recommendations among male firef...

Background Firefighters, as an occupational group, have one of the highest prevalence rates of obesity. A qualitative study investigated occupational and health behavioral determinants of obesity among firefighters. Methods Four focus groups were conducted with firefighters of every rank as Phase I of the FORWARD study which was designed to assess health behavioral and occupational characterist...

CONTEXT New York City firefighters responding to the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster on September 11, 2001, were exposed to numerous hazards. A medical screening program was conducted 3 weeks after the disaster on a sample of firefighters. OBJECTIVES To determine whether arrival time at the WTC and other exposure variables (including respirator use) were associated with symptoms and changes...

background: metabolic syndrome (metsyn) is closely associated with cardiovascular disease (cvd) particularly in stressful jobs such as firefighting. as studies assessing prevalence of metsyn among firefighters are rare, this study was aimed to assess prevalence of metsyn, insulin resistance and lp(a) level among firefighters in tabriz city. methods: 76 firefighters and 73 official staffs in tab...

BACKGROUND In the aftermath of a cargo aircraft crash in Amsterdam in 1992, indications of autoimmune disorders appeared in some of the affected population. METHODS This epidemiologic study sought to determine the possible long-term autoimmune health effects of the aircraft disaster on professional assistance workers. Exposed professional firefighters (n = 334) and police officers (n = 834) w...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare changes to pulmonary function among firefighters and non-firefighters who were exposed to harmful substances in their work environments. METHODS Firefighters (n = 322) and non-firefighters (n = 107) in Daegu who received a pulmonary function test in 2008 and 2011 as well as a regular health examination were included. Repeated me...

BACKGROUND Despite statements from national fire service organizations, including the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), promoting a diverse work force related to gender within the fire service, rates of women firefighters remain very low. Thus, research into why this extensive gender disparity continues is a high priority....