Physical fitness of mines rescue workers. A review of current methods of fitness testing in the Mines Rescue Service and similar organisations

There is constant concern in the Mines Rescue Service that its members, whether full or part-time, should be of sufficient physical fitness to carry out their duties in an emergency without jeopardising the safety of their colleagues in the rescue team. The current position with regard to fitness testing procedures in the rescue service is described and compared with the situation in the Fire Service and other organisations where physical fitness is considered to be a prerequisite of membership. The potential disadvantages of using a fitness index originally derived from the near-maximal Harvard Pack Test and applying it to a submaximal treadmill test are discussed.The available submaximal tests are reviewed for their usefulness to predict physical fitness and the different modes of testing (treadmill, bicycle ergometer, etc.) and test protocols are described. The inherent inter and intra-test variability of such tests, the use of submaximal or maximal tests and their relative advantages and disadvantages are also discussed with a view to recommending improvements in the test currently used in the Mines Rescue Service. In particular, it is suggested that a fundamental reappraisal is made of the way in which the test is used, in order to avoid too much reliance on the rigid pass/fail point given by the derived Harvard Pack Index.