There is no doubt that fighting fires is a physically demanding job. But how demanding is it? Wildland firefighters burn calories at the same rates as triathletes, mountain climbers, and combat soldiers. In Larry O'Hanlon's article titled "Firefighters Burn Calories Like Triathletes" (DiscoveryNews.com), exercise physiologist Dan Heil from Montana State University stated, "If they are a hotshot they are tough. There are no weaklings in that crew."

Heil studied ten Helena hotshot crew members during the summer of 2000 while they were fighting wildfires in Montana. There were nine men and one woman in the group, and their ages were between twenty-one and forty-four years old.

The hotshots carried a physical activity monitor the size of a matchbox in their chest pocket during all working hours for twenty- one consecutive days. This electronic device is capable of recording the duration and intensity...