Hydration Offers Firefighters a False Sense of Security

Heat exhaustion and hyperthermia are potential killers for firefighters braving wildfires on a hot day. Firefighters often need to be helicoptered out of the midst of a wildfire because they are suffering from one of these ailments. This potentially devastating risk that firefighters face daily has undergone recent studies, but unfortunately the study's findings are going unheeded, leading to a Texas firefighter's preventable death.

Firefighters are taught excessive hydration will prevent heat exhaustion, but this is not actually the case. Dr. Ruby's recent study states that even if a person is hydrated, they may suffer from heat exhaustion if their work rate is too high. Work rate is the true potential killer, not dehydration. Even though taxpayers paid for this study, the results are being kept from the public. Why this is the case is unclear, but hopefully the results will be shared with firefighters before anyone else suffers a preventable end.