Advancing the Alert (Pt. 3)
Technology improvements over the past two centuries have helped emergency responders carry out their duties more effectively. With recent scientific discoveries on the health impacts of alerting, the focus of advancing the alert has keyed in on the health of emergency responders.
Impacts of the Startle Response
Jarring audible alarms can cause significant harm to firefighters by causing a “startle response.” The startle response (similar to the “fight-or-flight” response) causes an adrenaline dump while raising blood pressure and heart rate. [1] As a result, firefighters are up to 14.1 times more likely to die from a heart attack during an alarm response than while performing regular duties. [2]
A 2016 study conducted by MacNeal et al. found that it is common for resting heart rates of 40 instantly shoot up to 160 after alarms have sounded. [3] Even more concerning was the discovery that heart rates did not return to normal until well after the emergency had passed. Fortunately, simple changes can make a significant difference.
Ramping up the volume of alerts can have beneficial effects on the stress levels of firefighters by mitigating the startle response. [3]
Personal “Heart-Smart” Alerts
“Heart-smart” alerting prioritizes the responder’s health when dispatching them to an emergency. Many Fire Station Alerting (FSA) systems now offer ramp-up audible tones and ramp-up lighting to improve alerting conditions for emergency responders.
EaseAlert Wearables and BunkAlert deliver “heart-smart” alerts directly to responders to reduce stress and improve efficiency.
The EaseAlert Fire Fighter Alerting System (FFAS) introduces a new level of “heart-smart” alerting. EaseAlert Wearables and BunkAlerts deliver “heart-smart” alerts directly to responders to reduce stress and improve efficiency.
EaseAlert dispatches responders to emergencies with a gentle tactile vibration on EaseAlert wearables while BunkAlerts shine a red light to improve nighttime vision without disorienting lights.
This system is designed to be less impactful on the heart and more effective in environments where hearing is strained.
Quiet alerting systems like EaseAlert promise to improve more than the heart health of firefighters. Loud environmental noises are also linked to hypertension, and heart attacks. [1]
Reducing the stress burden of alerting is a critical effort to support the health of emergency responders and the communities they protect.
References:
Munzel, T., Gori, T., Babisch, W., & Basner, M. (2014). Cardiovascular effects of environmental noise exposure. European Heart Journal, 35(13), 829–836. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehu030
Kales, S., et al. (2007). Heart disease deaths among firefighters. New England Journal of Medicine, 356(24), 2535–2537. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17377158/
MacNeal, J. J., Cone, D. C., & Wistrom, C. L. (2016). Effect of station-specific alerting and ramp-up tones on firefighters' alarm time heart rates. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 13(11), 866–870. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2016.1183018