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Fusing Wearable and Environmental Sensors for Context-Aware Firefighter Wellbeing Monitoring.

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Title: Fusing Wearable and Environmental Sensors for Context-Aware Firefighter Wellbeing Monitoring.
Authors: Appelle A; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA., Stach E; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA., Boyd B; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA., Salvino L; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA., Lynch JP; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Source: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) [Sensors (Basel)] 2026 Sep 19; Vol. 26 (18). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Sep 19.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Language: English
Journal Info: Publisher: MDPI Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101204366 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1424-8220 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14248220 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Sensors (Basel) Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Basel, Switzerland : MDPI, c2000-
MeSH Terms: Environmental Monitoring*/methods , Firefighters* , Wearable Electronic Devices*, Monitoring, Physiologic/methods ; Monitoring, Physiologic/instrumentation ; Heart Rate/physiology ; Humans ; Adult
Abstract: Real-time monitoring of on-duty firefighters has the potential to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and injuries by enabling early detection of fatigue and occupational hazards. Recent work uses wearable sensors to track metrics like heart rate and body temperature. However, most existing systems lack integrated environmental sensing, making it difficult to discern whether elevated vitals stem from physical exertion, ambient heat, or a combination of the two. To address this, a wireless sensing system is proposed that synchronizes physiological and environmental measurements during active firefighting. The system is validated using a new experiment where 28 firefighters completed repeated trials of a training circuit comprising warm-up activities and live-fire suppression. Participants answered survey questions after each phase to gauge overall wellness on a scale from 1 to 10. A predictive framework is developed to classify both the activity type and perceived wellness using the data collected. To extract useful information from the complex multimodal time histories, a series of models are compared using different sets of statistical features extracted from physiological, environmental, and demographic data. Furthermore, a linear mixed-effects (LME) model with subject-specific random intercepts is proposed to account for individual differences in biological response and self-reported wellness. Evaluation demonstrates the system differentiates warm-up from live-fire phases with over 97% accuracy. For wellness prediction, a one-label personalized LME model estimates their later ratings with a mean absolute error of 0.66±0.371, compared with 0.73±0.327 for the same model without personalization. Finally, data investigation reveals that wellness ratings were not fully explained by physiological measurements such as elevated vital signs, with individual differences and demographics accounting for most of the variance. These findings support further evaluation of multimodal sensing and personalized modeling for firefighter monitoring.
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Biometrics. 1982 Dec;38(4):963-74. (PMID: 7168798)
Circulation. 2017 Apr 4;135(14):1296-1299. (PMID: 28373524)
Sensors (Basel). 2019 Sep 03;19(17):. (PMID: 31484366)
Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Feb 08;12(4):. (PMID: 38391814)
J Pers Med. 2024 Feb 13;14(2):. (PMID: 38392636)
Nat Med. 2021 Jun;27(6):1105-1112. (PMID: 34031607)
Appl Ergon. 2020 Feb;83:103001. (PMID: 31739139)
Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2018 Oct 31;14:250-262. (PMID: 30972123)
Ann Occup Hyg. 1991 Dec;35(6):581-602. (PMID: 1768008)
ScientificWorldJournal. 2013 Oct 27;2013:704504. (PMID: 24288502)
J Occup Environ Med. 2001 Dec;43(12):1057-63. (PMID: 11765676)
IEEE J Biomed Health Inform. 2024 Nov;28(11):6525-6537. (PMID: 39240746)
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2010 Feb;7(2):109-14. (PMID: 20017053)
J Occup Environ Med. 2000 Oct;42(10):1021-34. (PMID: 11039166)
Appl Ergon. 2017 Mar;59(Pt A):34-44. (PMID: 27890146)
Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2017 Apr;12(Suppl 2):S22-S28. (PMID: 28253038)
Front Physiol. 2025 Apr 01;16:1584299. (PMID: 40236827)
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2011;2011:8365-8. (PMID: 22256287)
Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2016 Jul;44(3):90-7. (PMID: 27111479)
Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2017 Jan-Apr;21(1):2-8. (PMID: 29391741)
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 15;18(18):. (PMID: 34574646)
Nat Biomed Eng. 2023 Oct;7(10):1229-1241. (PMID: 37783757)
Sensors (Basel). 2024 Apr 02;24(7):. (PMID: 38610485)
Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018 Dec;28(12):2710-2722. (PMID: 30171784)
Sensors (Basel). 2020 May 05;20(9):. (PMID: 32380738)
Sensors (Basel). 2025 May 13;25(10):. (PMID: 40431861)
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Sensors (Basel). 2021 Feb 24;21(5):. (PMID: 33668116)
Sensors (Basel). 2019 Jan 17;19(2):. (PMID: 30658471)
Front Sports Act Living. 2021 May 31;3:661200. (PMID: 34136806)
Occup Med (Lond). 1999 May;49(4):225-9. (PMID: 10474913)
Sensors (Basel). 2020 May 16;20(10):. (PMID: 32429383)
Environ Int. 2011 Feb;37(2):314-21. (PMID: 20956017)
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2004 Sep;1(9):593-606. (PMID: 15559331)
Res Sports Med. 2022 Sep-Oct;30(5):573-576. (PMID: 33759653)
Can J Cardiol. 2025 Mar;41(3):531-541. (PMID: 39522870)
Int J Exerc Sci. 2020 Feb 01;13(2):374-382. (PMID: 32148623)
Grant Information: N00014-23-1-2799 Office of Naval Research
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: environmental monitoring; fatigue; fire; firefighting; multimodal; physiological monitoring; wellness; wireless sensor
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20261001 Date Completed: 20261001 Latest Revision: 20261005
Update Code: 20261005
PubMed Central ID: PMC13611607
DOI: 10.3390/s26185924
PMID: 42817489
Database: MEDLINE
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  Data: Real-time monitoring of on-duty firefighters has the potential to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and injuries by enabling early detection of fatigue and occupational hazards. Recent work uses wearable sensors to track metrics like heart rate and body temperature. However, most existing systems lack integrated environmental sensing, making it difficult to discern whether elevated vitals stem from physical exertion, ambient heat, or a combination of the two. To address this, a wireless sensing system is proposed that synchronizes physiological and environmental measurements during active firefighting. The system is validated using a new experiment where 28 firefighters completed repeated trials of a training circuit comprising warm-up activities and live-fire suppression. Participants answered survey questions after each phase to gauge overall wellness on a scale from 1 to 10. A predictive framework is developed to classify both the activity type and perceived wellness using the data collected. To extract useful information from the complex multimodal time histories, a series of models are compared using different sets of statistical features extracted from physiological, environmental, and demographic data. Furthermore, a linear mixed-effects (LME) model with subject-specific random intercepts is proposed to account for individual differences in biological response and self-reported wellness. Evaluation demonstrates the system differentiates warm-up from live-fire phases with over 97% accuracy. For wellness prediction, a one-label personalized LME model estimates their later ratings with a mean absolute error of 0.66±0.371, compared with 0.73±0.327 for the same model without personalization. Finally, data investigation reveals that wellness ratings were not fully explained by physiological measurements such as elevated vital signs, with individual differences and demographics accounting for most of the variance. These findings support further evaluation of multimodal sensing and personalized modeling for firefighter monitoring.
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  Label: References
  Group: RefInfo
  Data: Biometrics. 1975 Jun;31(2):423-47. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%221174616%22">1174616)</searchLink><br />Biometrics. 1982 Dec;38(4):963-74. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%227168798%22">7168798)</searchLink><br />Circulation. 2017 Apr 4;135(14):1296-1299. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2228373524%22">28373524)</searchLink><br />Sensors (Basel). 2019 Sep 03;19(17):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2231484366%22">31484366)</searchLink><br />Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Feb 08;12(4):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2238391814%22">38391814)</searchLink><br />J Pers Med. 2024 Feb 13;14(2):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2238392636%22">38392636)</searchLink><br />Nat Med. 2021 Jun;27(6):1105-1112. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2234031607%22">34031607)</searchLink><br />Appl Ergon. 2020 Feb;83:103001. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2231739139%22">31739139)</searchLink><br />Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2018 Oct 31;14:250-262. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2230972123%22">30972123)</searchLink><br />Ann Occup Hyg. 1991 Dec;35(6):581-602. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%221768008%22">1768008)</searchLink><br />ScientificWorldJournal. 2013 Oct 27;2013:704504. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2224288502%22">24288502)</searchLink><br />J Occup Environ Med. 2001 Dec;43(12):1057-63. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2211765676%22">11765676)</searchLink><br />IEEE J Biomed Health Inform. 2024 Nov;28(11):6525-6537. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2239240746%22">39240746)</searchLink><br />J Occup Environ Hyg. 2010 Feb;7(2):109-14. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2220017053%22">20017053)</searchLink><br />J Occup Environ Med. 2000 Oct;42(10):1021-34. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2211039166%22">11039166)</searchLink><br />Appl Ergon. 2017 Mar;59(Pt A):34-44. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2227890146%22">27890146)</searchLink><br />Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2017 Apr;12(Suppl 2):S22-S28. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2228253038%22">28253038)</searchLink><br />Front Physiol. 2025 Apr 01;16:1584299. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2240236827%22">40236827)</searchLink><br />Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2011;2011:8365-8. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2222256287%22">22256287)</searchLink><br />Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2016 Jul;44(3):90-7. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2227111479%22">27111479)</searchLink><br />Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2017 Jan-Apr;21(1):2-8. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2229391741%22">29391741)</searchLink><br />Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 15;18(18):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2234574646%22">34574646)</searchLink><br />Nat Biomed Eng. 2023 Oct;7(10):1229-1241. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2237783757%22">37783757)</searchLink><br />Sensors (Basel). 2024 Apr 02;24(7):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2238610485%22">38610485)</searchLink><br />Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018 Dec;28(12):2710-2722. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2230171784%22">30171784)</searchLink><br />Sensors (Basel). 2020 May 05;20(9):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2232380738%22">32380738)</searchLink><br />Sensors (Basel). 2025 May 13;25(10):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2240431861%22">40431861)</searchLink><br />Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2009 Aug;13(2):77-9. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2220386623%22">20386623)</searchLink><br />Sensors (Basel). 2021 Feb 24;21(5):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2233668116%22">33668116)</searchLink><br />Sensors (Basel). 2019 Jan 17;19(2):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2230658471%22">30658471)</searchLink><br />Front Sports Act Living. 2021 May 31;3:661200. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2234136806%22">34136806)</searchLink><br />Occup Med (Lond). 1999 May;49(4):225-9. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2210474913%22">10474913)</searchLink><br />Sensors (Basel). 2020 May 16;20(10):. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2232429383%22">32429383)</searchLink><br />Environ Int. 2011 Feb;37(2):314-21. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2220956017%22">20956017)</searchLink><br />J Occup Environ Hyg. 2004 Sep;1(9):593-606. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2215559331%22">15559331)</searchLink><br />Res Sports Med. 2022 Sep-Oct;30(5):573-576. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2233759653%22">33759653)</searchLink><br />Can J Cardiol. 2025 Mar;41(3):531-541. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2239522870%22">39522870)</searchLink><br />Int J Exerc Sci. 2020 Feb 01;13(2):374-382. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2232148623%22">32148623)</searchLink>
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