They also reported that women had challenges with their coats fitting too tight at the chest and hips (Park et al., 2014). ( 2014) aligned with these fit challenges, where women reported coat body and sleeve lengths were too long sleeves, shoulders, and necklines were too wide or oversized, and the neck collar was too high, limiting the range of motion and field of vision. ( 2013) explained the specifics of turnout coat fit issues including, they were too large, too long, or too bulky on the female body, and poor fit placement of pockets that impaired function and comfort during fireground activities. ( 2008) reported that 38.9% of women surveyed had challenges with their turnout coats. ( 2013) found that turnout coats were not available in sizes small enough for women from manufacturers or not always available in female-specific sizes at their respective firehouses. Several researchers have conducted qualitative studies to understand the size and fit challenges experienced by female firefighters for coats, pants, boots, and gloves (Boorady et al., 2013 Hulett et al., 2008 McKinney et al., 2021 Park et al., 2014 Park & Langseth-Schmidt, 2016). ( 2008) reported that women have nearly four times (79.7%) the number of issues with ill-fitting firefighting PPE compared to their male counterparts (20.9%). These injuries were attributed to (in no order of importance) (1) the impact of working in a male-dominated field, (2) harassment, (3) similar rates/types of injury between sexes, (4) inadequate training, (5) ill-fitting gear, and (6) functional techniques/endurance (Hollerbach et al., 2017). Previous studies found that women experienced higher rates of injury than their male firefighter counterparts (Liao et al., 2001 Sinden et al., 2013). Between 20, the NFPA estimated that female firefighters experienced an average of 1260 injuries on the fireground each year (Campbell, 2017). Haynes and Stein ( 2017) reported that a new injury occurs every eight minutes for U.S. Despite sex disparity in the fire service, the population of female firefighters is growing, and research must be directed towards understanding their unique challenges (Hollerbach et al., 2017). Of those firefighters, 8% (93,700) identified as women. In 2018, the NFPA estimated there were 1,115,00 career and volunteer firefighters in the United States (U.S.) (Evarts & Stein, 2020). With effective fire industry partnerships and future research, women can experience fewer injuries, improved comfort, and work performance with their PPE while establishing equality with their male counterparts. The study discovered several opportunities to improve the size and fitting process women experienced when acquiring new turnout gear. The data also identified previously undocumented knowledge gaps between NFPA size standards, commercialized products, and processes used by manufacturers and firehouses to fit female practitioners. Interview and survey data pinpointed experiences with the PPE sizing processes that led to poor fit. The data considered how the size and fit standards established by the NFPA and how leading fire PPE manufacturers’ interpretation of standards impacted fit for female firefighters. To achieve this aim, data were collected from manufacturer-provided web communications regarding sizing and fit, user surveys (n = 74), and 1:1 interviews (n = 31) with U.S. Therefore, in this mixed-method paper, the authors explored the relationship between fire PPE and injuries, and how they related to sizing and fit. Previous research attributed some of these injuries to ill-fitting fire personal protective equipment (PPE). Between 20, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimated that female firefighters experienced 1260 injuries on the fireground each year.
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