International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 25 (2000) 513}523

Injury risk pro"le and aging among QueH bec "re"ghters

E. Cloutier*, D. Champoux
Institut de recherche en sante& et en se& curite& du travail du Que& bec 505, boul. de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montre& al, Que& bec, Canada H3A 3C2
Received 7 June 1998; accepted 4 March 1999
Abstract
The signi"cant level of risk faced by "re"ghters raises questions about the ability of these workers to remain in their
jobs as they age. To address this question, the relation between age and two risk indicators (frequency rate, and median
duration of absence) and between age and the characteristics of accidents involving "re"ghters were analysed. The results
revealed a signi"cant decrease in accident frequency rate and a tendency for the median duration of absence to increase
with age. The characteristics and circumstances of 1041 accidents can be summarized by seven accident pro"les, of which
three are typical of speci"c age categories. Accidents occurring in the course of site exploration and ventilation during "re
extinction frequently resulted in shoulder and neck injuries and were more likely to occur among younger workers.
Fire"ghters aged 40}44 yr tended to su!er accidents involving falls while in movement (walking, running, climbing,
descending). Finally, "re"ghters aged 45}49 yr tended to su!er accident relapses. The four other accident pro"les were
associated with "re"ghters of all ages. These results highlight the existence of task-related constraints which become
harder to bear with increasing age. The task demands of "re"ghting are not very well known. Only "eld research can "ll
this knowledge gap and improve both work organization and prevention as well as apply the know-how to aging labour
force.
Relevance to industry
This study will allow municipalities to better analyse accidents involving "re"ghters and to thereby improve
prevention. 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Accidents; Age; Fire"ghters; Tasks; Hazards
1. Introduction
Fire"ghters run a high risk of occupational acci-
dents. The existence of demanding physical and
mental professional requirements (Kuorinka and
Korhonen, 1981; PreH vost et al., 1992) raises
*Corresponding author.
questions about the ability of "re"ghters to main-
tain their jobs as they grow older. An examination
of the e!ect of aging on the frequency, severity, and
nature of accidents is therefore pertinent. This
study addresses these questions as well as those
related to the role of task characteristics and of
organizational and environmental factors. Interest
in these issues was stimulated by the "ndings of
a recent study of the risk of accidents among "re-
"ghters in two large Quebec municipalities (Cham-
poux and Cloutier, 1996).
0169-8141/00/$- see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 1 6 9 - 8 1 4 1 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 3 8 - 4
A number of studies have examined the relation
between age and safety among "re"ghters. Finnish
studies identi"ed the tasks "re"ghters found the
most demanding. Tasks requiring high aerobic
capacity or signi"cant motor coordination ("re-
"ghting, rooftop rescue) were named by older "re-
"ghters as the most demanding (Louhevaara and
Lusa, 1992; Lusa et al., 1994). Furthermore, it ap-
pears that the distribution of work within "re"ght-
ing teams may take into account the increasing
di$culty older "re"ghters encounter in perform-
ing certain tasks. It is therefore important to take
organizational #exibility into account when exam-
ining the relation between age and accidents among
"re"ghters (Wendelen, 1994).
Cloutier and Duguay (1996b), in their study ex-
amining the relation between age and accidents
among "re"ghters, reported a statistically signi"-
cant age-dependent increase in the median and
mean duration of work absence, but no signi"cant
association between age and the nature nor the
incidence rate of occupational accidents. These re-
sults are surprising, since an association between
age groups and speci"c types of accidents has been
reported in other industrial sectors (Cloutier and
Duguay, 1996a; Cloutier, 1994; Rhodes, 1983; Root,
1981).
Further light is shed on these results by detailed
analyses of risk indicators and of characteristics of
accidents involving "re"ghters, particularly those
describing the relation between age on the one
hand and tasks and selected organizational and
environmental factors on the other. The results of
these analyses help identify both preventive
measures that take "re"ghters' age into account,
and research possibilities.
2. Methods
The accident data for this study was extracted
from the reports "led for the 1041 occupational
accidents su!ered by "re"ghters in two large
QueH bec municipalities during 1992. Data on the
As workforce data was di$cult to obtain, 1992 data, avail-
able from a previous study, was used.
age distribution of "re"ghters was provided by the
municipalities. The municipalities were similar in
terms of urban development and "re"ghting activ-
ities, work practices, tasks and schedules. Reported
accidents include those resulting in compensated
work absences (one-third of cases) and those which
required only "rst aid and resulted in either no
work absence or a work absence of less than one
day.
For each accident, the following information was
collected: demographics, human and technical as-
pects of work organization (equipment, schedules,
etc.), the work context immediately prior to the
accident (activity, environment, individual charac-
teristics), the circumstances of the accident, and the
injuries su!ered. Accident data was coded in ac-
cordance with the analytical model illustrated in
Fig. 1 (La#amme, 1990). The following variables
were analysed:
E demographic data,
E human aspects of work organization (schedules,
shifts, time elapsed since the beginning of the
shift) and technical organization (vehicles, tools,
equipment, personal protective equipment),
E the circumstances preceding the accident: activ-
ity (responsibility, task, action), environment
(workplace), individual factors (age, experience),
E circumstances surrounding the accident (time,
speci"c location context, weather conditions, en-
vironmental conditions, type of accident),
E nature of the injury (nature, site, causal agent,
lost hours).
The outcome measures used were the incidence
rate and the median of the number of compen-
sated work days. Seven groups composed of 5-yr
age strata were established. The initial analysis
was of the age structure of the workforces of the
two municipalities. This was followed by an analy-
sis of the variation of risk across age groups (chi-
squared for the incidence rate and rank test for the
median duration of compensated work days),
The incidence rate is the ratio of the total annual number of
accidents to the number of exposed workers.
With the exception of the last age group, consisting of all
"re"ghters aged 50 yr and older.
514 E. Cloutier, D. Champoux / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 25 (2000) 513}523
Fig. 1. Model for analysis of accidents
and by the description of the circumstances of
the accidents, using data from all the accidents. The
accident pro"les correspond to groups (classes) of
accident circumstances which are similar to each
other but di!erent from those of other pro"les (i.e.
the most characteristic variables di!er from pro"le
to pro"le). The analysis allowed veri"cation of the
existence of a relation between the typical circum-
stances of accidents (active variables) and the age
of the accident victims (illustrative variable). At
this stage, di!erent statistical techniques were
combined, including factorial analysis of corre-
spondences, ascendant hierarchical classi"cation
(BenzeH cri, 1985) and chi-squared tests.
In order to shed further light on the signi"cance
of the results and suggest further research possibili-
ties and preventive measures adapted to the real
work environment of "re"ghters, site visits were
conducted to "re stations and key informants in-
terviewed; both these activities a!orded ample
opportunity to discuss issues with "re"ghters.
Finally, site observations of actual "re"ghting
operations were taken on three occasions.
2.1. Scope and limitations of the study
This study has a number of noteworthy charac-
teristics. Although the study population is only
composed of "re"ghters from two municipalities, it
nevertheless represents almost 75% of the entire
full-time "re"ghting population in Quebec and
10% of the entire Quebec "re"ghting population.
The two participating municipalities are note-
worthy both by their size, which is much greater
than the average and by the fact that they employ
"re"ghters on a full-time basis. The surveys from
which the accident data was drawn were conducted
by the municipalities themselves, and it is therefore
possible that they do not constitute a comprehen-
sive source of all the potential safety-related para-
meters. Despite this, the accident circumstances
and types of injuries have been validated by "re-
"ghters as a reasonably accurate re#ection of the
hazards faced by "re"ghters. Finally, to better
understand the e!ects of aging on occupational
accidents, a longitudinal, rather than the cross-
sectional approach taken here, is preferable. Never-
theless, the study does take age di!erences into
account and demonstrates the existence of sub-
groups of workers particularly exposed to certain
types of accidents.
3. Results
3.1. Population
The population of "re"ghters studied here was
relatively young (Table 1). In fact, the modal age
was between 25 and 29 yr, the mean age was
34.9 yr, and the median age was 34.1 yr. Because
there was a high correlation between age and
Most small municipalities rely on volunteer or on-call "re-
"ghters.
E. Cloutier, D. Champoux / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 25 (2000) 513}523 515
Table 1
Distribution of "re"ghters, incidence rates and the median of the number of compensated work hours with age
Age Workforce Incidence rate (%) Median of the number
of compensated work
Workers % All accidents Accidents with work absence hours
(25 265 13.7 52.5 18.5 42
25}29 536 27.8 63.4 16.8 68
30}34 194 10.1 69 20.6 62
35}39 292 15.2 54.4 18.1 138
40}44 247 12.8 47.8 16.9 105
45}49 201 10.4 37.4 8.5 74
*50 yr 193 10 36.7 15.5 113
Total 1928 100 53.7 16.5 74
The incidence rate is the ratio of the total annual number of accidents to the number of exposed workers.
The median of the number of compensated work hours is calculated by dividing the individual duration of absences into two equal
groups.
"15.9; d.f."7; p(0.03.
"36.05; d.f."7; p(0.001.
Statistically signi"cant ( p(0.001).
experience, the rest of the results data are presented
in terms of age alone.
3.2. Risk indicators
The incidence rates of accidents resulting in work
absences and for all accidents were 16.5 and 53.7%,
respectively (Table 1). There is a signi"cant relation
between age and the incidence rate ( p(0.05). It
decreases with age, with "re"ghters younger than
35 yr exhibiting a signi"cantly higher incidence rate
than those aged 40 yr and older. There is however
a peak among "re"ghters aged 30}34 yr. The same
pattern of age-related decrease is present for all
types of incidents (with and without work absence).
A statistically signi"cant relation ( p(0.001) was
also found between age and the median duration of
compensated work days. The duration of absence
tends to increase with age, with the longest absen-
ces observed among "re"ghters aged 35}39 yr, and
absences slightly decreasing among "re"ghters
40 yr and older (Table 1).
3.3. Relation between age and characteristics of
accidents
These risk indicators refer to the frequency and
severity of injury: what can be said about the char-
acteristics of the accidents? For the purposes of this
analysis, accidents with and without work absence
were considered together, as their circumstances
are similar.
Information on the 1041 accidents can be sum-
marized by seven accident pro"les (Tables 2 and 3).
The results highlight the fact that the nature of
tasks and some work situations constitute signi"-
cant risk factors.
Three of the seven classes, accounting for over
one-third of accidents (35.3%), are associated with
speci"c age groups. In the following discussion, the
accident pro"les are presented in order of increas-
ing age.
Class I accidents are typical of young "re"ghters
(25}29 yr), and account for 11% of all cases. They
occur when "re"ghters strike (on the level or up-
wards), pull, push or detach objects, using a ga! or
ax during typical "re"ghting operations such as
exploration and ventilation. The accident location
is typically inside buildings or on roofs, sca!olding,
or balconies. The injuries involve the neck and
This is justi"ed by the similar accident distributions for
accidents with and without work absence (chi-squared test). The
similarity of the circumstances of accident with and without
work absence has been observed elsewhere (Laughery, 1993).
516 E. Cloutier, D. Champoux / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 25 (2000) 513}523
Table 2
Characteristics of the three accident pro"les associated with speci"c age group
Variable Class I 119 cases; 11.4%
Inertia: 3.7%
Class II 206 cases; 19.8%
Inertia: 4.3%
Class III 43 cases; 4.1%
Inertia: 1.8%
Cause Movements, loads 49.6 Body movements 29.6 Unknown 97.7
Debris 22.7 Ground, roof, holes 27.2
Stairs, ladders 20.4
Action Strike 54.6 Walking, running 32.5 Unknown 51.2
Pull/push 38.7 Up/down stairs or
ladders
30.1 Static position
or seated
25.6
Type of accident Reactive voluntary
movements
39.5 Falls, slips 62.1 Multiple 37.2
Task Exploration 61.3 Movement 23.8 Unknown 46.5
Ventilation 21.0 Practice, "tness 11.2 Other 27.9
Type of injury * Sprains, pulls 37.9 Unknown 72.1
Work context Fires 99.2 * Unknown 39.5
Site of injury Neck, shoulder 18.5 Multiple 21.4 *
Knee 20.4
Ankle 13.1
Tool involved Ax, ga! 64.7 NA 99.5 *
Equipment or vehicle
involved
NA 99.2 Respiratory
equipment
8.7 *
Stressors Falls of debris 16.8 Slippery surface,
hidden holes
15.0 *
Posture, balance 24.4 Encumberment 13.6
Weather 11.6
Accident location Inside buildings 68.9 * Other 23.3
Roof, sca!olding,
balconies
17.6 Unknown 18.6
Time lost * *160 h 15.5 *
Age 25}29 yr 47.1 40}44 yr 18.4 45}49 yr 25.6
Time since shift start 7}11 h 35.3 * *
Time * * *
Illustrative variables.
("93.2; d.f."42); p(0.001.
Legend: The inertia is a measure of the homogeneity of a class } the lower the inertia, the more the class is de"ned by similar events.
Classes are groups of accidents whose constituents events are as similar to each other but di!erent from other classes as possible.
Number indicate the percentage of accidents in the class which are signi"cantly di!erent from the global distribution. Dashes indicate
the absence of a particular tendency. The relation between classes and age is signi"cant.
shoulders and are caused by voluntary movements
while loaded or by debris falls. Speci"c postural
(such as work in a cherry-picker or with the arms
above the head) and balance stresses are typical of
this type of accident. Many of these accidents occur
between 7 and 11 h after the beginning of the shift.
The duration of work absence is variable.
Class II accidents (20% of cases) are su!ered in
a higher proportion by "re"ghters aged 40}44 yr
and result from falls, slips and reactive involuntary
movements while "re"ghters walk, run, go up or
down stairs or ladders. These accidents occur dur-
ing all types of activities, as movement is a neces-
sary component of all tasks. Injuries are caused by
the movements themselves or by the ground, the
roof, holes, stairs or ladders on which "re"ghters
land. Slippery surfaces caused by unfavourable
weather conditions, slopes or hidden holes, and
encumbered sites may be contributory factors. The
most characteristic injuries associated with this
E. Cloutier, D. Champoux / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 25 (2000) 513}523 517
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class of accidents are knee and ankle sprains, and
multiple injuries resulting in work absences of
160 h or more. The additional load associated with
the use of personal protective respiratory equip-
ment is a contributory factor in some cases.
The third accident class (Class III, 4% of cases),
with a disproportional representation of "re"ghters
45}49 yr old, encompasses all cases of relapse.
A high proportion of the relapses in this class
involve multiple injuries and most were not related
to a speci"c work context. Unfortunately, the acci-
dent report forms contained little useful informa-
tion, due to administrative constraints.
Four other accident classes, accounting for
slightly less than two-thirds of accidents (64.7%),
were not associated with any speci"c age group (i.e.
victims of these accidents were found in all age
strata).
E The fourth and largest class (Class IV, 22% of
cases) corresponded to swelling, bruises and lac-
erations occurring after "re"ghters collided with
something, su!ered crush injuries or were struck
by objects during work at the station (mainten-
ance, repair of vehicles and station equipment).
The injuries involved the "ngers, hands and parts
of the legs and were associated with movements
with tools or handling loads. Con"ned work
spaces were often an important contributing fac-
tor. Many of these accidents occur within an
hour of the start of the shift.
E Accidents occurring during travel to and from
the station, mounting or dismounting from ve-
hicles or during descent of the station pole or
stairs compose Class V (18% of cases). These
result in knee or ankle sprains and occur follow-
ing voluntary or involuntary movements, falls, or
slips. The duration of work absence was usually
between 40 and 80 h. A signi"cant proportion of
these accidents occur between 10:00 and 11:59
AM (3}5 h after the beginning of the shift).
E Class VI accidents (13% of cases) involve skin,
eye, and respiratory tract irritations and burns.
Contact with dusts, chemicals, "re, #ames,
smoke, and embers during "re"ghting opera-
tions are the cause, and poor visibility and debris
falls are important contributory factors. The
work absences resulting from these accidents last
less than 20 h. Many of the accidents occur 2}3 h
after the beginning of the shift.
E Class VII accidents (12% of cases) are caused
by excessive exertion while handling hoses and
vehicles during extinction operations and
transportation or installation of "re"ghting
equipment or personal protective equipment.
They cause back sprains. Some of these accidents
occur while "re"ghters work outdoors, and the
presence of ice is a contributory factor. Many of
these accidents occur 1 h or more after the begin-
ning of the shift.
4. Discussion
4.1. Injury indicators
The incidence rate seems to decrease with age
which is consistent with the results of other studies
of jobs `especially in the health and municipal civil
service sectorsa involving signi"cant physical work-
loads (Cloutier and Duguay, 1996a; David, 1990;
Ilmarinen et al., 1991), but is in contrast with those
of another study (Cloutier and Duguay, 1996b).
This relation between age and the incidence rate
may re#ect the exclusion of older workers no longer
able to cope with certain work stresses (Volko!,
1989; Volko! and MolinieH , 1995).
Furthermore, it is known that risk is highly de-
pendent on the speci"c tasks comprising a given
job. We suggest that the decreased incidence ob-
served among older "re"ghters may re#ect their
lower exposure to certain critical tasks, for example
those associated with extinction operations. Some
of the "eld interviews suggest that the informal
This study (Cloutier and Duguay, 1996b) relied upon admin-
istrative data which described occupational accidents in the
municipalities in very broad terms. Some accidents involving
"re"ghters may have been missed (accidents involving captains
or chiefs who were also active "re"ghters, cases of unknown age,
relapses, etc.), which would explain the absence of a signi"cant
relation between age and incidence rate. The data used in the
present study is more reliable since it is drawn from the records
of the municipalities' "re"ghting departments; these depart-
ments collect data on the circumstances surrounding all acci-
dents, regardless of whether they entail work absences.
E. Cloutier, D. Champoux / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 25 (2000) 513}523 519
distribution of work that takes place at "re sites
takes "re"ghters' age into account, and that older
"re"ghters request transfers to districts with lower
"re"ghting workloads. The importance of #exible
task allocation that allows older "re"ghters to stay
on the job has been reported elsewhere (Wendelen,
1994).
Finally, older "re"ghters very probably exploit
their experience and know-how to develop protec-
tive individual and collective work strategies
(Cloutier, 1994; Cru and Dejours, 1983; Dejours,
1993). The importance of older "re"ghters trans-
mitting their practical know-how to younger ones
was mentioned during interviews. In the large
municipality studied, it appears that this type
of information transmission was inadequate when a
large fraction of the workforce was rapidly re-
placed. This could a!ect safety, speci"cally the inci-
dence rate of injuries among young "re"ghters.
The age-related increase in accident severity, as
measured by the median of the number of compen-
sated work days, observed among "re"ghters up to
their 30s and the subsequent slight reduction are
also consistent with the results reported by other
authors in di!erent sectors (Cloutier and Duguay,
1996b; Rhodes, 1983; Root, 1981). One hypothesis
for this phenomena is that it re#ects an age-depen-
dent increase in recovery time (Garg, 1991). Fur-
thermore, the age-related increase in the median of
the number of compensated work days is probably
related to the fact that a signi"cant proportion
of the most serious accidents, falls, and slips are
proportionaly concentrated among "re"ghters
40}44 yr. Relapses are most frequent among "re-
"ghters 45 yr and older and are also associated
with long work absences, which also a!ects the
relation between age and the severity of the injuries.
4.2. Accident classes
Information on the nature of tasks sheds light on
the observed relation between age and accident
classes. In addition to their own, inherent, require-
ments, tasks have characteristic conditions of ex-
ecution related to the work environment and
equipment. These also determine the stresses to
which workers are exposed and the risk of acci-
dents. Several studies have demonstrated that cer-
tain work conditions become harder to bear with
increasing age; these include high and sustained
physical workloads, rigid time constraints, de-
manding precision requirements, rigid operational
modes, and the presence of multiple constraints
(Charness, 1985; Laville, 1989; Salthouse, 1984,
1990a, b; Teiger, 1989; Volko! et al., 1994). These
studies also reported that the age at which the
stresses become di$cult to bear is highly stressor-
dependent.
Several indicators suggest that "re"ghters expo-
sure to particularly demanding tasks decreases with
age. Exploration and ventilation during "re"ghting
operations appear to belong to this category of
tasks for which exclusion of "re"ghters may occur
at an early age. The prevalence of accidents related
to voluntary movements while using ga!es or axes
during exploration and ventilation among "re-
"ghters younger than 30 yr could thus re#ect the
fact that it is primarily young "re"ghters that are
exposed to this type of hazard.
These observations are in agreement with those
of Finnish studies that reported that older workers
consider tasks requiring high aerobic capacity and
those requiring high motor coordination ("re"ght-
ing, rooftop rescues) to be the most demanding of
all (Louhevaara and Lusa, 1992; Lusa et al., 1994).
Given their demanding conditions of execution,
these tasks may put young `and inexperienceda
"re"ghters at a particular disadvantage. It is
interesting to note that some interview data sug-
gests that the experience and safety-related
know-howof older workers (which probably allows
them to develop protective strategies for some haz-
ards), is inadequately transmitted to younger "re-
"ghters.
Furthermore, data indicate that other tasks may
be associated with other stressors which become
critical among older "re"ghters. This appears to be
the case for movements, a component of all activ-
ities that is strongly associated with falls among
"re"ghters 40}44 yr old. The data from this study
and those reported in the literature reveal that this
type of accident entails the longest work absences.
An age-related increase in falls is reported by vir-
tually all studies that have examined the variation
of the type of accidents with age (Rhodes, 1983;
Root, 1981), with the exception of the study
520 E. Cloutier, D. Champoux / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 25 (2000) 513}523
reported by Heineman et al. (1989). Most authors
suggest that this may be due to an age-related
increase in equilibrium disorders (Millanvoye and
Marcelin, 1978) or to other physiological or cogni-
tive modi"cations that hinder individuals from per-
forming adequately in the required time frames and
under critical situations (Welford, 1985).
The fact that relapses were more frequent among
"re"ghters aged 45 yr and older is probably also
related to the requirements of certain tasks that
become harder to bear with age. The literature
generally ascribes these relapses to incomplete
healing at the time of return to work or to work-
loads exceeding the residual capacity remaining
after the accident (Baril et al., 1994; Butler et al.,
1995). It may be that some weakness remains fol-
lowing accidents resulting in musculoskeletal inju-
ries (e.g. to the back or the joints of the lower limbs),
and that this weakness manifests itself when indi-
viduals are called upon to furnish sustained and
intense exertion such as those required during "re-
"ghting.
It also appears that other tasks are not asso-
ciated with stresses which penalise older workers,
as the existence of four age-independent accident
classes demonstrates. This is true of tasks asso-
ciated with station work, and of those related to
mounting and dismounting from vehicles, but
is a surprising observation, in contrast with the
conclusions of other authors, with regard to tasks
related to "re extinction operations and the mani-
pulation of various objects. A detailed analysis of
the relation between age and extinction-related
tasks should be carried out and the results com-
pared with those obtained by Louhevaara and
Lusa (1992). The results of the present study with
regard to excessive exertion occurring during hand-
ling activities and resulting in back disorders di!er
from those reported elsewhere. Several authors
have reported an association between the type of
accident and the existence of a workforce aged
35 yr or less (Cloutier and Duguay, 1996a; Engkvist
et al., 1992; Mandel and Lohman, 1987; Rhodes,
1983; Root, 1981). It is possible that the lack of
association with the age of the "re"ghters re#ects
a work organization strategy that promotes the
development of individual or collective safety prac-
tices that particularly favour young "re"ghters.
Compensatory work practices that evolve with age
and a!ord protection from hazardous situations
have been reported for other jobs (Cloutier, 1994;
Cru and Dejours, 1983; Dejours, 1993).
5. Conclusion
The decrease in incidence rate, increase in the
duration of absence, and characteristics of the age-
speci"c accident classes, clearly suggest the exist-
ence of particularly critical stressors in the work
of "re"ghters. The age at which the e!ects of
these stressors are "rst perceived appears to be
variable, although they seem to become increa-
singly di$cult to bear with increasing age and may
lead to the exclusion of certain workers. These
stressors appear to be determined both by the
nature of the tasks and the conditions of their
execution and are associated with speci"c types of
accidents.
Our data suggest possible intervention and re-
search strategies regarding the relation between age
and work. However, "eld studies on the real work
of "re"ghters that take into account the particulari-
ties of various tasks, are necessary. These studies
should attempt to more fully characterize the e!ect
of the most common and most onerous environ-
mental, organizational and other constraints. For
example, the e!ect of factors such as the schedule
and technical aspects of work, which in the present
study appear to be critical determinants of the
safety of "re"ghters, regardless of age, should
be more fully analyzed. The identi"cation of organ-
izational solutions to problems faced by older
"re"ghters would be a valuable step which goes
beyond ergonomic or individual (selection, physical
"tness) solutions (Aptel et al., 1993).
The recognition of the real nature of work would
allow work to be better distributed among "re-
"ghters of di!erent ages. This study also indicates
the need to focus attention on the transmission of
know-how and the learning of individual and col-
lective compensatory strategies among "re"ghters.
Furthermore, the maintenance of older "re"ghters
in their jobs, which favours transmission of know-
how, is critical for younger workers and for work
organization in general.
E. Cloutier, D. Champoux / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 25 (2000) 513}523 521
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