Experts: Size Matters When it Comes to Seat Belt Safety

Over the past decade, seat belt safety has been a hot topic in the fire service, but experts on hand at the FDSOA Apparatus Symposium this week said that the problem is just as much as a technical issue as it is a cultural one.

J. Gordon Routely, a division chief in Montreal, Canada who has headed several high profile studies and investigations says size has everything to do with why not all firefighters wear seat belts.

"(Firefighters) told us 'We're too big and the seats are too small,' " Routley said, noting that the current NFPA standards are based on military standards created 40 years ago.

He spoke about the issues they had trying to strap firefighters into existing seats during the study.

"They need enough room to sit, and a seat belt they can fasten," he said.

He also said that one thing that needs to be kept in mind is that "one size doesn't fit all." He pointed out that a seat big enough for a 95th percentile male may be too big for a 5th percentile female.

To investigate this issue, the first anthropometric study of firefighters was planned. Total Contact Inc., was hired to conduct the study -- which was funded in part by grants from the FIRE Act and NIST.

Data was collected at fire stations in Montogmery County, Md., Phoenix, Philadelphia and Fort Worth, Texas.

Bob Ferri, an engineer with Total Contact Inc., said the process took about 40 to 50 minutes per firefighter and that at every station they visited it was done on a voluntary basis, but that wasn't a problem.

"Almost all of the firefighters wanted to participate," he said. "It was a tough task, but they got it done in record time," he said of the departments' ability to fit the study into their schedules.

To collect the data, three-dimensional images where taken through the use of various body scanners.

During the preliminary study, 120 firefighters were assessed and it quickly became clear how much of an issue size really was.

The gear the firefighters wore increased their body mass by a third.

"We knew it was bad, but we didn't know it was that bad," Mike Wilbur, a veteran FDNY firefighter who is nationally recognized in Emergency Vehicle Operations, said.

The findings led to the recommendation for new dimensions for seat size. Instead of the current 23 inches in depth, 30 inches in depth was recommended and instead of 30 inches in width, 32 inches in depth was recommended.

Following the preliminary study, NIOSH became interested, leading to a larger study that began about a year-and-a-half ago.

The study also is being conducted by Total Contact and is aiming to develop design tools for manufacturers as to the size of firefighters, not just in regards to seats.

Phase II of the study is set to begin this spring and a mock cab design will be constructed and brought to participating departments. A full-body scanner will be used to collect data during this part of the study.

"As the new set of data comes out, we'll most likely see a change in recommended cab size," Routely said, adding that the final study could have a big implication on how apparatus are constructed in the future.