PROPER HYDRATION FOR FIREFIGHTERS

Water is extremely important for every day functions occurring within your body.  Most of your body is made up of water, and your muscles are 60-70% water!  Your body depends on water to assist with the delivery, absorption, and digestion of nutrients, and it is absolutely essential in keeping your joints and muscles properly hydrated, which helps in reducing injury as well. 

Our bodies lose between 35 oz and 90 oz of water through breathing, body waste, and sweat.  To avoid dehydration, the Institute of Medicine recommends approximately 1 gallon per day! A good rule of thumb is to get a minimum of 1 gallon per day, and more on days that are hotter than normal or days that have a higher than normal workload.

Research has shown that firefighters lose between 50 and 70 oz. of water in sweat in just 45 minutes of activity on the fire ground. This means that on busy days, make sure you get more than the 1 gallon recommendation.