Authors' objectives: To determine the health effects, if any, of using substitute training fuel in firefighters. To determine if employing substitute training fuel reduces potential harmful exposure to firefighters.

Authors' results and conclusions: No published study was identified from the initial search incorporating the keyword “health”. A similar search but excluding the keyword “health” identified 26 published studies. Upon examination on the titles and abstracts of these 26 studies, four were thought to be relevant and were retrieved in full for further appraisal. Seven further studies were identified from manual searches. Overall, 11 published studies retrieved in full for further appraisals where eight of these were deemed not relevant and were therefore excluded. At present, there is no study reporting the health outcomes associated with training fuel among firefighters or comparing health outcomes during firefighting training employing Class A fires (solid combustible such as wood, paper, plastic, clothing, and rubber) vs. Class B (flammable liquids and gases). There is some low level, low quality (potential for bias, chance and effect of confounders cannot be excluded) evidence showing that employing propane as fuel in firefighting training may reduce the exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and/or volatile organic compounds, as measured by some metabolites, compared to employing solid combustible such as woods. However, it is not clear whether these reported urinary biomarkers affecting the health of study participants.

Authors' methods: A comprehensive and systematic literature search was conducted on January 9, 2024. The search was done on commercial and non-commercial medical literature databases. A combination of keywords was employed on this search. No limitation, such as on the language or date of publication, was implemented in this search. A manual search was also done on the references of the articles that were retrieved in full.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/research-services/evidence-based-medicine-and-systematic-reviews

Year Published: 2024

URL for published report: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/health-care-providers/guides/potential-health-effects-training-fuel-firefighters?lang=en&origin=s&returnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worksafebc.com%2Fen%2Fforms-resources%23sort%3DDate%26q%3DPotential%2520Health%2520Effects%2520of%2520Training%2520Fuel%2520on%2520Firefighters%26f%3Alanguage-facet%3D%5BEnglish%5D%26tags%3DGuide%7C2d7eb4b30f6a4a319e0d40565c9abbab%2CHealth%2520Care%2520Provider%7C13468b0b3f074f6bade3f57ac3cdfb8e%2CSystematic%2520Review%7Cf78c29d570c14ec3b5a394385905df70&highlight=Potential%20Health%20Effects%20of%20Training%20Fuel%20on%20Firefighters

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Mini HTA

Country: Canada

Organisation Name: WorkSafeBC

Contact Address: 6591 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC, V7C 1C6 Canada. Tel: 604-231-8417; Fax: 604-279-7698

Contact Name: ebpg@worksafebc.com

Contact Email: ebpg@worksafebc.com

Copyright: WorkSafe BC