Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Tuesday 4 sepTember 2018

Study shows health, reaction-time declines in firefighters

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Randy food supplied by the U.S.
Brooks’ son had a request Forest Service. That agen-
three years ago: What cy has done extensive re-
could his dad do to make search on what it takes to
wildland firefighting safer? keep wildland firefighters
To Brooks, a professor at the fueled, and contractors
University of Idaho’s Col- who supply the meals must
lege of Natural Resources meet Forest Service nutri-
who deals with wildland tional guidelines.
firefighting, it was more of a Forest Service health ex-
command. perts have even followed
His son, Bo Brooks, is a wild- firefighting crews to take
land firefighter who a few blood samples to check
days earlier during that glucose levels, which can
2015 fire season fled a wall indicate alertness.
of flames that killed three of Joe Domitrovich, an exer-
his fellow firefighters in east- cise physiologist with the
ern Washington. Forest Service’s National
The result of the conversa- Technology and Develop-
tion was an online survey ment Program in Missoula,
that drew some 400 fire- Montana, said that experi-
fighters who mostly iden- ment led the agency to
tified mental and physi- In this Aug. 9, 2018, file photo, firefighters keep watch the Holy Fire burning in the Cleveland Na- change gears and recom-
cal fatigue as the primary tional Forest in Lake Elsinore, Calif. mend firefighters snack
cause of injuries to firefight- Associated Press during their shifts to keep
ers who are often confront- glucose levels up.
ed with a changing, dan- The study last year found so much it took firefighters 100 firefighters and include “It’s critical for cognitive
gerous environment. firefighters lost muscle mass twice as long to react. hotshot crews, a ground- function as well as physical
But a self-selecting online but gained fat based on Brooks said his initial based wildland firefighter movement,” he said.
survey is not necessar- body-composition testing thoughts are that wildland that can, like smokejump- The agency declined to
ily representative of what’s before and after the sea- firefighters might need bet- ers, be deployed on a na- comment on the University
happening in the field. So son. The firefighters also ter nutrition to stay fit and tional basis. of Idaho study.
Randy Brooks decided to wore a wrist device called mentally sharp. But last Smokejumpers in the study Brooks said at this point in
apply some science. a Readiband from a com- year’s study had only nine often eat pre-made meals. his study there are more
That led to an ongoing pany called Fatigue Sci- firefighters. Brooks this year Brooks wants to find out if questions than answers.
health-monitoring study in- ence. The device keeps has expanded the study maybe those meals are For example, one ques-
volving wrist-worn motion track of how many hours to 18 firefighters, 16 men behind some of the puz- tion is why so many fire-
monitors and body com- of sleep a person gets. For- and two women. They’re zling results from last year’s fighter deaths are due to
position measurements mulas developed by the smokejumpers, meaning study, such as a loss in mus- falling branches or trees.
that last year found health U.S. military then calculate they parachute from air- cle mass. The deaths of three of the
declines and deteriorating fatigue, based on a lack of planes to fight fires. Hotshots, meanwhile, can 14 firefighters who died last
reaction times among fire- sleep. That’s used to pre- Brooks said that next year return to a central spot year were due to what are
fighters as the season pro- dict alertness and reaction he hopes to have about where they get prepared called hazard trees. q
gressed. times, which get worse as
“A lot of them face peer fatigue levels rise.
pressure to perform all the Firefighters in the field can NASA anxious to hear from
time,” Brooks said. “Oth- get as little as six hours of
ers feel pressured to pro- sleep or less each night.
tect natural resources and The devices found that not Mars rover as dust storm clears
structures at all costs.” only did reaction times fal-
About 19,000 firefighters ter as firefighters remained By MARCIA DUNN
couple of months, NASA got stuck in soft Martian dirt
are currently in the field longer on a fire before get- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. said it will cut back on its in 2009, and NASA eventu-
fighting nearly 40 large ting a mandatory break,
wildfires. Fourteen firefight- Brooks said, but firefighters (AP) — NASA is anxious to listening effort. Even if a ally gave up trying to free it.
hear from its dust-silenced message does get through, Both rovers were designed
ers have died this year as also tended to take longer
wildfires have scorched to recover as the season Mars rover, Opportunity, as that may be the most the to operate for just 90 days,
the planet's red skies clear.
rover — mute since June 10 however, and exceeded
about 3,500 square miles progressed. Sometimes,
(9,000 square kilometers) fatigue levels reached a Flight controllers have — can muster. expectations. They were
separately
in
been on the alert for a Even before the dust storm, launched
and destroyed about 3,000 level that suggested reac-
homes. tion times slowed down message from Opportunity the 15-year-old rover was 2003 and landed on Mars
ever since a dust storm en- exhibiting signs of old age. in 2004.
veloped Mars in June and Its front steering and flash NASA's younger Curiosity
contact was lost. The storm memory are shot. rover was unaffected by
has finally diminished. That "We are pulling for our te- the dust storm; it relies on
means the sky is now clear nacious rover to pull her nuclear, versus solar, pow-
enough for Opportunity's feet from the fire one more er.
solar panels to receive sun- time," project manager Another NASA spacecraft,
light and fire back up. John Callas said in a state- meanwhile, is on its way
But NASA this week warned ment from NASA's Jet Pro- to Mars and should land in
it may never hear from Op- pulsion Laboratory in Pasa- November. Named InSight,
portunity again. If there's dena, California. this robotic explorer has so-
no word back in the next Opportunity's twin, Spirit, lar panels.q