The FIREWELL Research Champion series profile our firefighter collaborators and their critical contributions to our research on firefighter health and wellbeing.
Meet Rob D’Amico
Rob D’Amico is a Captain with the Hamilton Fire Department and the Secretary of the Hamilton Professional Fire Fighters Association (IAFF, Local 288). He is the Co-Chair of the Occupational Health and Exposure Program (OHEP), a voluntary program that monitors the health and wellness of Hamilton firefighters annually. He is also the Vice-Chair for the Local Advisory Committee for the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (Hamilton).
How are you involved in FIREWELL?
Over the last 8 years, I have been working with FIREWELL researchers to identify the factors that affect firefighter health and performance, and develop research-based tools that might help firefighters do their work more safely and reduce their chances of getting hurt on the job.
I participate in FIREWELL research team meetings where we discuss the implementation of projects and the next steps in firefighter research. I provide researchers input on study procedures to ensure that the protocol is feasible and has practical applications to the unique work that firefighters do. I also consult with researchers on the use of research findings to develop tools (e.g., physical demands analysis, Zephyr BioHarness, Technology-Enabled Analysis of Movement and Feedback (TEAM-Feedback)) that might help improve firefighter health and performance. I facilitate the recruitment and data collection for the musculoskeletal and functional screening of Hamilton firefighters and the beta testing of prototype tools for injury prevention.
I was also involved in the development of the FIREWELL logo and website and support the team’s dissemination activities by sharing research findings with other firefighters. I am a co-investigator on three research grants on improving firefighter health and have co-authored FIREWELL publications and presentations.
To read Rob’s profile on CIHR’s Celebrating Health Research Storybook, click here and scroll down.
Read Rob’s Co-Authored Publications
Prevalence and distribution of musculoskeletal disorders in firefighters are influenced by age and length of service. (Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 2017)
Evaluating the Reliability of a Marker-Less, Digital Video Analysis Approach to Characterize Fire-fighter Trunk and Knee Postures During a Lift Task: A Proof-of-Concept Study (Journal of Ergonomics, 2016)
View Rob’s Co-Authored Poster Presentations
Rob’s Media Interviews
Firefighter’s injuries make them ‘working wounded’: study (Radio Canada International, February 16, 2018)
Study examines Hamilton firefighters’ injuries (The Hamilton Spectator, February 16, 2018)
Firefighter injuries pile up, Western University study finds (London Free Press, February 16, 2018)
Study looks at persistent pain experienced by firefighters (Fire Rescue 1, February 2, 2018)
Study looks to extinguish persistent firefighter pain (Western News, February 1, 2018)
Remembering the destruction of the Plastimet fire, 20 years later (CBC News, July 8, 2017)
Plastimet fire, 20 years later: Part 1 Part 2 (CHCH News, July 5, 2017)
Health risks for firefighters will be logged on new app called Xposure (The Hamilton Spectator, February 12, 2016)
Do you want to be a FIREWELL Research Champion?
If you’re a firefighter who would like to get involved in FIREWELL research, please contact us.