October 2025 - Get Fit For Duty Newsletter
- Get Fit For Duty
- Oct 29
- 9 min read
Welcome
Hello & Welcome to the Get Fit For Duty Research Newsletter!
The aim of this newsletter is to provide a monthly update on recent research focused on the health and wellbeing of firefighters. Each month will aim to have a guest researcher, who will give a insight into their current research and the positive impact their work will make to firefighters.
If you are currently undertaking research within the fire service sector, we would love to hear about your project, please email us at info@getfitforduty.co.uk.
Included in the October newsletter,
Scroll down to read the October edition of our newsletter.
October Monthly Roundup
Hello,
Thanks to those who subscribed and have read the newsletter. I hope that you have found it interesting and a useful insight to some of the work being carried out to support the health and wellbeing of firefighters.
We are now into our fifth issue of the newsletter. Our guest this month is Professor Mark Abel. Mark is a professor of Exercise Science and Director of the First Responder Research Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at the University of Kentucky. Mark’s research focuses on the influence of exercise- and work-related fatigue on occupational readiness and injury risk.
The article of the month is a randomised controlled trial study using WhatsApp delivered transtheoretical model-based intervention to promote healthy eating habits and anthropometric measurements for male firefighters.
As mentioned previously, to help build this community, I need your help. If you know anyone who would be interested in this newsletter, please share it on your social channels and invite them to join our group on LinkedIn. Simply search for “Get Fit For Duty - Firefighter Health & Wellbeing Group”
Stay healthy,
Dr Liam Noll
Sport & Exercise Science, PhD
Newsletter Abstract
Don’t have time to read the full newsletter now? No problems, the Newsletter Abstract provides you will a brief summary of the articles included in this month’s issue.
Guest Research of the month - Professor Mark Abel - Professor of Exercise Science and Director of the First Responder Research Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at the University of Kentucky.
Professor Mark Abel is the Director of the First Responder Research Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at the University of Kentucky. Mark is also serving as a Senior Research Fellow for the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Research Member of the Portuguese Police Research Center. In addition, Mark has frontline experience from serving as a former firefighter.
Mark’s research focuses primarily on the influence of exercise-and work-related fatigue on occupational readiness and injury risk.
Mark has provided the following recommendations following the findings from his research:
Firefighters should progressively increase training intensity and/or volume. Departments should provide educational resources and/or Strength and Conditioning Coaches to ensure that programs are scaled based on fitness level.
Avoid high intensity functional training on-duty. HIFT is a great training stimulus that mimics the energetic demands of intense fireground tasks. However, it is best to perform it off-duty.
Schedule on-duty exercise sessions during low volume call times to reduce the risk of responding to an emergency in a fatigued state.
Strength and conditioning practitioners and/or peer fitness trainers should communicate with exercising personnel to determine how each firefighter responds to a given exercise modality and modify subsequent workouts accordingly.
Article of the month - A randomised controlled trial study using whatsapp delivered transtheoretical model-based intervention to promote healthy eating habits and anthropometric measurements for male firefighters.
The aim of this study was to identify if app based nutrition interventions could improve dietary habits and body measurements among male firefighters in Hong Kong.
The results indicated that the WhatsApp intervention demonstrated positive changes in dietary behaviours specifically in their fruit consumption when compared with the control group.
Key takeaway points from this study:
Mobile health interventions work: WhatsApp-based, staged-matched nutrition guidance improved fruit intake and diet behaviour in firefighters.
Practical & scalable: The use of a mobile platform suits firefighters’ shift patterns and can complement workplace wellness initiatives already in place.
Positive health outcomes: Both the intervention group and the control group saw reductions in body weight and waist size. These results suggest that even simple structured nutrition education can enhance firefighter wellbeing.
Guest researcher of the month - Professor Mark Abel, Ph.D., CSCSD, TSAC-FD
Please tell us a bit about yourself and your background (Including your current role, how long you have been in your role).
I am a Professor of Exercise Science and Director of the First Responder Research Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at the University of Kentucky. I’m also serving as a Senior Research Fellow for the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Research Member of the Portuguese Police Research Center. I am a former firefighter, current member of the International Association of Fire Fighters – International Association of Fire Chief’s Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness Fitness Initiative Task Force, and recipient of the National Strength and Conditioning Association's Tactical Strength and Conditioning Practitioner of the Year Award.
Please tell us about your research topic.
I have been conducting research focused on enhancing firefighters’ health, safety, and readiness for 20 years. In general, the First Responder Research Lab focuses on the influence of exercise- and work-related fatigue on occupational readiness and injury risk. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that firefighters perform exercise on-duty. Unfortunately, these exercise sessions are often interrupted with emergency responses, requiring firefighters to work in a fatigued state, which may compromise performance and safety. Thus, we have dedicated a line of research toward identifying appropriate on-duty training modalities.
In our seminal study, conducted by Dennison and coworkers (2012), we evaluated the impact of circuit training on subsequent occupational performance in moderately trained firefighters. The findings indicated that on-duty circuit training significantly reduced firefighters’ work rate (10 min post-exercise) by about 10%. To place this finding in context, we compared this reduced post-exercise work rate to an independent group of untrained / sedentary firefighters. We found that the fit, but fatigued firefighters’ average work rate was still faster than about 70% of the untrained (non-fatigued) firefighters. These findings highlight the importance of regularly performing appropriately scaled exercise on-duty – as the chronic adaptations appear to outweigh the concern about not wanting to exercise on-duty due to exercise fatigue.
However, not all exercise modalities may be appropriate to perform on-duty. In a separate investigation conducted by Mason et al. (2023), we demonstrated that 10 min following a bout of on-duty high intensity functional training, firefighters’ work rate significantly decreased by 45%, 4-fold worse than traditional circuit training. Furthermore, air consumption increased by 27% to perform the same set of occupational tasks, while work efficiency (composite measure of work rate and air consumption) was reduced by 40%. Work rate, air consumption, and work efficiency were statistically back to baseline levels 1 hour post-exercise. However, individual analysis indicated that 43% (i.e., 3 of 7 firefighters) of the firefighters still had not returned to baseline work rate. The most recent published investigation focused on subsequent injury risk. This study, led by Thruston et al. (2025), demonstrated that despite non-significant trends, on-duty circuit and heavy resistance training did not impact firefighters’ postural sway or functional balance 10 min post-exercise, suggesting these training modalities are safe to perform on-duty.
What methodologies have you used within your research project?
To conduct the occupational performance studies, we utilized standardized exercise sessions and simulated fireground tests that mimic tasks performed on a working fireground. For instance, the tasks included stair ascent / descent, hose line advance, equipment carry, ladder raise, forcible entry, search, and victim rescue. Participants were familiarized with the tasks prior to engaging in official trials. The outcome variables included timed completion of the tasks, air consumption, and physiological metrics (e.g., heart rate, blood lactate).
The injury risk project involved standardized circuit and heavy resistance training (5 repetition maximum loads) sessions followed 10 min later by balance assessments performed in PPE on force plates (e.g., bi/unilateral postural sway, single leg drop landing) and using a modified functional balance test (mFBT). The mFBT involves ambulating as quickly and accurately as possible on a narrow plank over and under standardized barriers, mimicking movement patterns on the fireground.
How do you hope your research can help address current challenges firefighters face in terms of health and wellbeing?
The current challenge is identifying appropriate exercise modalities that promote long-term performance adaptations, without causing undue acute fatigue that increases injury risk or substantially reduces work performance. This research will inform departmental and fire service recommendations regarding appropriate types of on-duty exercise to enhance occupational readiness.
Are there any specific interventions or recommendations that have emerged from your research so far?
The recommendations from this work include the following:
Firefighters should progressively increase training intensity and/or volume. Departments should provide educational resources and/or Strength and Conditioning Coaches to ensure that programs are scaled based on fitness level.
Avoid high intensity functional training on-duty. HIFT is a great training stimulus that mimics the energetic demands of intense fireground tasks. However, it is best to perform it off-duty.
Schedule on-duty exercise sessions during low volume call times to reduce the risk of responding to an emergency in a fatigued state.
Strength and conditioning practitioners and/or peer fitness trainers should communicate with exercising personnel to determine how each firefighter responds to a given exercise modality and modify subsequent workouts accordingly.
Where can our readers learn more about your research project? (links to publications or other media)
Readers can learn more about my work here: Lab website: https://education.uky.edu/khp/laboratories/first-responder-lab
Dennison KJ, Mullineaux DR, Yates JW, Abel MG. The effect of fatigue and training status on firefighter performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Apr;26(4):1101-9. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31822dd027. PMID: 22446677.
Mason MR, Heebner NR, Abt JP, Bergstrom HC, Shapiro R, Langford EL, Abel MG. The Acute Effect of High-Intensity Resistance Training on Subsequent Firefighter Performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2023 Jul 1;37(7):1507-1514. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004417. PMID: 36727716.
Thruston JL, Best SA, Heebner NR, Bollinger LM, Abel MG. Effect of On-Duty Resistance Training Fatigue on Neuromuscular Function in Structural Firefighters. Healthcare (Basel). 2025 May 28;13(11):1278. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13111278. PMID: 40508890; PMCID: PMC12155234.
Research Article of the Month - A randomised controlled trial study using whatsapp delivered transtheoretical model-based intervention to promote healthy eating habits and anthropometric measurements for male firefighters.
Ng, W.W.M., Cheung, K., Hung, M.S.Y. and Lui, K., 2025
Introduction
Firefighters are known to have elevated risks of obesity and cardiovascular disease; these risks are compounded by the nature of their work (shift patterns, irregular meals, high physical/psychological stress, communal living). One modifiable risk factor is diet: in particular, adequate consumption of fruit and vegetables (F&V) is associated with reduced risk of obesity and CVD.
Previous interventions targeting diet in firefighters are sparse, especially theory-based and leveraging flexible delivery modes adapted to the occupational demands of firefighters (e.g., 24-hour shifts).
The authors chose to apply the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behaviour change (with stages such as pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance) in a “stage-matched” way (i.e., tailoring the intervention according to participant’s baseline readiness) and to deliver it via the mobile messaging platform WhatsApp, recognising that traditional in-person seminars may not suit firefighters’ schedules. 
Aims/Research questions
The study had two main aims:
1. To test whether a TTM-based health promotion programme (pamphlet + stage-matched WhatsApp content) would lead to greater improvements in fruit & vegetable consumption (primary outcome: change in stage of change for F&V intake) compared with a pamphlet-only (active control) condition. 
2. To examine whether the intervention would lead to improvements in anthropometric measurements (body weight, BMI, waist circumference).
Methodology
A randomised controlled trial (RCT) with two arms was conducted. The intervention group received a pamphlet + WhatsApp stage-matched teaching materials). The control group received a pamphlet only. 
48 male firefighters in Hong Kong participated in the study. 23 allocated to intervention group and 25 to the control group. 
The intervention group received a printed health-promotion pamphlet at baseline, and every two weeks they received stage-matched teaching materials via WhatsApp (matching their baseline TTM stage). The control group received the pamphlet alone. 
Measurements were taken at baseline (T0), then follow-ups at 3 months and 6 months after intervention was completed.
The following outcome measures were recorded
• Stage of change for F&V intake (categorised through questionnaire).
• Actual consumption of fruit and vegetables (number of servings/days per week).
• Anthropometric: body weight, BMI, waist circumference.
• Statistical analysis: Mixed-effects models to test interaction of time × group for outcomes.

Key Results
At 6 months post‐intervention, > 60 % of the intervention group moved into the “Action” or “Maintenance” stages of F&V consumption, compared to ~44 % of the control group. This indicates greater behavioural advancement in the intervention group. 
Fruit consumption: The mixed-effects model indicated a statistically significant interaction between group and time for number of fruits consumed (P = 0.0022), suggesting the intervention group increased their fruit intake over time more than the control group. 
Anthropometrics: Within both groups significant improvements (reductions) were observed in body weight, BMI, and waist circumference (P < 0.05). However, the summary doesn’t specify whether the between-groups difference was statistically significant for anthropometrics.
Conclusion
The intervention (pamphlet + WhatsApp stage-matched materials) was effective at promoting increased F&V consumption and improving anthropometric metrics among male firefighters. 
However, this study only included male firefighters, therefore future research is required to identify if the positive effects reported would be the same for female firefighters.
Do you need participants for your research project?
Are you looking for participants for your upcoming fire related research project? If you are, send me an email about your project and I would be happy to feature it in an upcoming newsletter to try and help increase participation for your research project.
