ABSTRACT

When thinking about fit and able firefighters, one might not see a connection to design for disabled aceess. Due to their demanding and high stress work environment, firefighters can temporarily experience functional limitations from all main categories of disabilities. These "situational disabilities" have a detrimental effect on firefighters' ability to communicate to each other and to the command post. The principles of design for disabled access can and should be applied to the design of communication devices for firefighters .