The purpose of this consensus document was to develop feasible, evidence‐based occupational heat safety recommendations to protect the US workers that experience heat stress. Heat safety recommendations were created to protect worker health and to avoid productivity losses associated with occupational heat stress. Recommendations were tailored to be utilized by safety managers, industrial hygienists, and the employers who bear responsibility for implementing heat safety plans. An interdisciplinary roundtable comprised of 51 experts was assembled to create a narrative review summarizing current data and gaps in knowledge within eight heat safety topics: (a) heat hygiene, (b) hydration, (c) heat acclimatization, (d) environmental monitoring, (e) physiological monitoring, (f) body cooling, (g) textiles and personal protective gear, and (h) emergency action plan implementation. The consensus‐based recommendations for each topic were created using the Delphi method and evaluated based on scientific evidence, feasibility, and clarity. The current document presents 40 occupational heat safety recommendations across all eight topics. Establishing these recommendations will help organizations and employers create effective heat safety plans for their workplaces, address factors that limit the implementation of heat safety best‐practices and protect worker health and productivity.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenging barriers faced by female firefighters, which limit workplace entrance and performance. Design/methodology/approach: Occupational barriers from both psychological and physiological viewpoints were explored based on previous literature and the reported experiences of female firefighters. Findings: A comprehensive review of literature synthesizes previous studies pertaining to gender anthropometric differences, female firefighters’ experiences in the work environment and protective clothing issues. The physical capabilities of men and women in specific relation to performing firefighting activities are also examined. Issues of greatest concern are identified for personal protective clothing (PPC) and equipment, which have traditionally been designed for the male human form. This leads to a lack of protection, an increased risk of onsite injury, reduction in mobility and poorer comfort for female firefighters. Originality/value: This review provides an original overview of the critical workplace challenges faced by female firefighters. The need for female-specific PPC and equipment is specifically addressed to retain the growing number of women entering the male-dominated firefighting profession.

The purpose of this review article is to evaluate ventilation, within protective clothing, for its benefit towards heat loss. Literature from ventilation studies in the sports apparel, outdoor clothing, military, chemical, and firefighter protection industries will be examined for future research opportunities. Challenges to ventilation such as garment placement, protection, wearability, and durability will be discussed in the context of turnout suits. Ventilation designs will be considered for further evaluation in structural firefighter turnout garments. This article serves as the first comprehensive review of ventilation literature for structural firefighter turnout ensembles. Researchers, technologists, and functional apparel designers may all benefit from such a review. The value of ventilation and its potential contribution to current firefighter turnout research will be discussed.