VivoMetrics LifeShirt offers answers about firefighters; helps in setting standards

Published 7 August 2006

Some two decades ago, as women fighting for equal rights wanted to become firefighters, there were questions raised (mostly by men) about women’s physical ability to cope with the demands of the profession; a California company now offers a way scientifically and accurately to answer many questions about firefighters’ ability to cope with the stress and rigor of the job – and also help in setting training and safety standards for the profession

Remember the debates in the early days of the equal-rights-for-women campaign about whether or not women could serve as firefighters? The reason for asking this question (the question, we note, was typically asked by men) had to do with doubts regarding the physical ability of women to carry heavy gear — or injured fire victims — up and down ladders to the and from the top floors of buildings. We have moved some distance from those days, and now we can answer many more questions regarding firefighters