Firefighting: Elite Female Firefighters

Physical Characteristics of Elite Female Firefighters

By Mike Berry, President/Owner of Power-Up USA, Inc. (MFD - Ret.)

The pre-training female firefighter recruits with an overall 85th percentile rank, are considerably bigger, stronger and more fit than the average female from the general population. Post-training female recruits rank at the 90th percentile, i.e. the top 10% of the female general population. In 14 weeks of physical conditioning, female firefighter recruits demonstrate significant improvements in strength and fitness. Strength scores increase by an average of 21% and fitness scores by an average of 29%. The average post-training female recruit when compared to reference data firefighter has lower physical size scores (-14 points) and lower strength scores (-9 points), but higher fitness scores (+17 points). The total combined physical size, strength and fitness characteristics of female recruits, as quantified by the Fire•Power•Index™, is very near that of the reference data firefighter criterion. The Fire•Power•Index™ of the post-training female recruit is 480 points compared to the "average" Firefighter with 500 points.

Summary & Reference Data Comparisons
VARIABLE	Reference Data Female	Pre-Training Female Recruit	Post-Training Female Recruit	Reference Data Firefighter
Age	20.2	28.2	28.5	33.5
Height Weight (lb) Lean Weight (lb) SIZE SCORE Firefighter Ability Rating	5' 4½" 125.7 90.9 13 Very Poor	5' 7" 163.9 130.6 35 Fair	5' 7" 162.1 133.7 36 Fair	5' 10" 183.5 147.4 50 Average
Bench Press (lb) Lat Pulldown (lb) Hand Grip (lb) STRENGTH SCORE Firefighter Ability Rating	83.8 130.0 64.9 15 Very Poor	130.9 162.4 102.3 34 Fair	151.8* 195.9* 103.9 41* Fair	173.4 198.4 131.1 50 Average
Step Test (MET's) Sit-Ups %-Body Fat FITNESS SCORE Firefighter Ability Rating	11.4 30.0 27.0 31 Poor	12.0 44.4 19.7 52 Average	14.5* 50.6* 17.3 67* Very Good	11.6 43.5 19.7 50 Average
FIRE•POWER•INDEX™ Overall Ability Rating	197 Very Poor	404 Fair	480* Average	500 Average
Firefighter Population %-tile Rank Mathematical Model	1%-tile	20%-tile	45%-tile	50%-tile
Age and Gender General Population %-tile Rank	50%-tile	85%-tile	90%-tile	65%-tile
*The pre-training to post-training changes for 17 female recruits is statistically significant at the .05 level (p<.05).

Recommendations

1. Female firefighter recruitment efforts should focus on the top 25% of the female general population.
2. A comprehensive physical conditioning program should be an integral part of female firefighter recruit training.
3. Job-related strength training should be the primary focus of any physical conditioning program for female firefighter recruits.
4. Developing and/or maintaining adequate levels of strength with job-related strength training is essential throughout the duration of the female firefighters career.