Firefighter motion capture data set and biomechanical analysis of task-specific gear effects and loading asymmetries

Firefighting tasks are strenuous and injury-prone. This study developed a biomechanical dataset from 20 professional firefighters performing equipment carry, hose drag, body drag and stair climb, with and without gear, using motion capture and musculoskeletal simulations. Biomechanical loading and activity asymmetry were analysed. Gear effects were found to be task-dependent: trunk muscle activity increased across activities, hip joint reaction forces consistently rose and ankle torque increased only during body drag. In stair climb, ankle torque decreased with gear, while knee and hip torques increased, indicating greater reliance on proximal joints. Leg muscle activity rose bilaterally in all tasks except hose drag. Side-specific patterns also emerged: across all activities, the left knee consistently exhibited higher torques, while ankle and knee reaction forces were greater on the right. During dragging tasks, more power was generated from the left upper body. This dataset and analysis provide insights for ergonomics, training and injury prevention.