Firefighters' feet: Differences by sex and weight-bearing

Jeyeon Jo, Susan Sokolowski, Meredith McQuerry, Linsey Griffin, Huiju Park

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Firefighters have reported their protective boots to be bulky and ill-fitting, which they believe restrict the lower body movement on the unpredictable fireground. This study used 3D foot scanning to compare the shape of firefighters' feet to the general population, the shape of female firefighters’ feet to males, and the impact of the heavy fire gear on foot shape. The results found the foot breadth of firefighters was larger than the general population and the feet of female firefighters were slimmer than males. Furthermore, it revealed that the feet of firefighters became longer, wider, and flatter when bearing the weight of fire gear. Protective boots should be designed based on the foot shape and dimensions of the actual population, with consideration of sex differences and the impact of weight-bearing for their safety.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number103753
JournalApplied Ergonomics
Volume102
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported in part by the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station federal formula funds, Project No. NYC-329851 received from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) United States Department of Agriculture. This research was supported in part by the Small Grants Program through the Council on Research and Creativity (CRC) at Florida State University, and in part by the 2018 University of Oregon Faculty Grant.

Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station federal formula funds, Project No. NYC-329851 received from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) United States Department of Agriculture. This research was supported in part by the Small Grants Program through the Council on Research and Creativity (CRC) at Florida State University , and in part by the 2018 University of Oregon Faculty Grant.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • 3D scan
  • Fire boots
  • Firefighter
  • Foot
  • Sex difference
  • Weight-bearing

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Firefighters' feet: Differences by sex and weight-bearing'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this