Firefighting can be dangerous, especially on days like today when humidex values reach 40 °C.
“Under these conditions, we want to make sure that the crews don’t overheat,” said Deputy Chief Kim Ayott, Ottawa Fire Services.
Inside a firefighters gear, it can feel 10 degrees hotter than it does outside. If that individual goes into the direct sunlight that number doubles said Ayott.
As well, depending on the tools and equipment, a firefighter can carry anywhere from 80 to 100 pounds of extra weight.
“A small change in the core temperature, about 1°C in your brain temperature can drop you. So what we try and do is make sure our firefighters don’t achieve that number,” said Peter McBride, Division Chief of Safety.
Ottawa Fire Services say they take every precaution to keep crews safe, especially during these hot days. They rotate crews every 15-20 minutes, make sure they stay hydrated and provide them with cooling chairs to reduce their core temperature.
“It is hot to begin with and you are going into extreme temperatures, fighting a fire so your ability to work for long durations is diminished quite substantially so as a result of that, we tend to rotate them through,” said Ayott.
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