PROJECT-AQUARIUS .1. STRESS, STRAIN, AND PRODUCTIVITY IN MEN SUPPRESSING AUSTRALIAN SUMMER BUSHFIRES WITH HAND TOOLS - BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVES, AND METHODS

This is the first in a series of 13 papers about the safety and produc tivity of firefighters suppressing wildland fires ('bushfires' in Aust ralia) with hand tools, with particular emphasis on their physiologica l and subjective responses and the factors that influence them. The me asurements were made during a broader investigation to determine the m ost intense fire that could be suppressed by hand tools, by bulldozers , and by air tankers. The investigation was carried out during three s uccessive summers in dry eucalypt forests of Western Australia and Vic toria. Four crews, each of 7 or 8 male firefighters, were studied whil e they attempted, for periods of 35-220 minutes, to suppress well-deve loped experimental bushfires with hand tools, and also while they buil t fireline in the same way without fire. Additional studies were made under controlled conditions: outdoors in the forest, indoors in field laboratories, and in a climatic chamber in Sydney. Most of the measure ments were also made on the scientific observers, who shared the firef ighters' environment but performed less strenuous work. All findings w ere highly consistent over the four crews, three summers, and two Stat es and are thus generally applicable to bushfire suppression with hand tools in southern Australia.