Version 1
: Received: 2 May 2021 / Approved: 6 May 2021 / Online: 6 May 2021 (15:24:53 CEST)
How to cite:
Bourdon, E.; Schaefer, T.; Kittel, M.; Raedle, M.; Heininger, A. Physical Effectiveness of Safety Interventions in Fire Engines to Reduce Potential Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (COFIRE). Preprints2021, 2021050108. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202105.0108.v1
Bourdon, E.; Schaefer, T.; Kittel, M.; Raedle, M.; Heininger, A. Physical Effectiveness of Safety Interventions in Fire Engines to Reduce Potential Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (COFIRE). Preprints 2021, 2021050108. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202105.0108.v1
Bourdon, E.; Schaefer, T.; Kittel, M.; Raedle, M.; Heininger, A. Physical Effectiveness of Safety Interventions in Fire Engines to Reduce Potential Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (COFIRE). Preprints2021, 2021050108. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202105.0108.v1
APA Style
Bourdon, E., Schaefer, T., Kittel, M., Raedle, M., & Heininger, A. (2021). Physical Effectiveness of Safety Interventions in Fire Engines to Reduce Potential Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (COFIRE). Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202105.0108.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Bourdon, E., Matthias Raedle and Alexandra Heininger. 2021 "Physical Effectiveness of Safety Interventions in Fire Engines to Reduce Potential Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (COFIRE)" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202105.0108.v1
Abstract
Physical distancing and wearing a face mask are key interventions to prevent COVID-19. While this remains difficult to practice for millions of firefighters in fire engines responding to emergencies, the delayed forthcoming of evidence on the physical effectiveness of such safety interventions in this setting presents a major problem. In this field experimental study, we provided initial evidence to close this gap. We examined total aerosol burden in the cabin of a fire engine whilst manipulating crew size, natural ventilation, use of FFP2 respirators and use of SCBA full-face masks during 15-minute driving periods. At the same time, we controlled for crew activity and speaking, vehicle speed, cabin air temperature, pressure and humidity. Limiting the crew size, using FFP2 respirators and not donning SCBA full-face masks was associated with a reduction of the arithmetic mean of total aerosol burden of up to 49%. Natural ventilation as tested in this study was associated with both an increase and a decrease of total aerosol burden. This study provided initial evidence on the physical effectiveness of safety interventions in fire engines to reduce potential airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through aerosols. More research about the physical and clinical effectiveness of such safety interventions is needed.
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Safety Interventions; Fire Engine; Vehicle, Aerosol; Fine Dust Measurement
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
