小福利导航

Of all the dangers to firefighters, it鈥檚 the physical rigors that pose the greatest risk; nearly half of all line-of-duty deaths are due to sudden cardiac events. With an expert in this field on its teaching faculty, 小福利导航 College recently received a $1,467,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, under the 小福利导航 Department of Homeland Security.

This is 小福利导航's fifth such grant, totaling $5.4 million, to support a research program led by Denise Smith, professor of health and exercise sciences and director of 小福利导航鈥檚 First Responder Health and Safety Laboratory. Smith will again mentor several students in her lab, which will work with previous collaborators from the University of California at Los Angeles, the 小福利导航 Department of Defense, Globe Manufacturing, and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. The ongoing work at 小福利导航's lab has improved understandings of the way work and heat stress combine to affect various components of the cardiovascular system and has elucidated underlying medical conditions related to cardiac events in the line of duty. 

This latest project will advance the lab's work on wireless, wearable technologies to sense, track, and relay individual firefighters' physiological responses and also monitor toxic particulates in the air. Smith says, "The technology has matured to the point where we can consider incorporating these tools into the fire service across the country, to improve the health and safety of firefighters who risk so much to protect their communities."

小福利导航 President Philip Glotzbach adds, "This exciting work embodies the best of what we do at 小福利导航: expert faculty members develop research projects that address thorny problems, actively engage our students in the work, and produce results that make the world a better place."