The Validity and Reliability of a Treadmill Test for Structural Firefighter Applicants.

OBJECTIVE This 2-part study evaluated validity and reliability of a treadmill test for structural firefighting. METHODS Wearing fire protective ensemble, 260 participants walked at 1.56 m.s-1, completing a 5-min warm-up, an 8-min stage at a 5.71° incline, then graded stages to exhaustion. In Part 2, 21 participants completed the test on 3 separate days under standardized conditions. RESULTS Average (±SD) oxygen uptake (VO2) during minutes 1-13 was similar to reported values for simulated fire-rescue work. During the 13th min, VO2 was consistent with VO2peak recommendations for firefighters. In Part 2, exercise duration increased between trials 1 and 2 before stabilizing but VO2peak was consistent. CONCLUSIONS Congruence with reported VO2 during simulated firefighting and recommendations for VO2peak confirmed validity. Acceptable test-retest reliability was demonstrated. We conclude that the test is valid and reliable for evaluating cardiorespiratory endurance for firefighting.