CHARLOTTE COFFMAN
CCE Summer Intern
Congratulations and welcome to Elizabeth Esponnette, a rising FSAD senior, who was awarded a Cornell Cooperative Extension summer internship. Beth will evaluate firefighter uniforms for improved donning and doffing. She will work with career and volunteer firefighters who agree to be videotaped while they demonstrate gear set up, uniform donning procedures, usual body positions while working, and uniform doffing procedures. The 3D body scanner will be used to gather fit and function data as participants are scanned wearing close-fitting garments, personal turnout suits, and five other turnout suits. Beth will also conduct interviews with the firefighters to solicit their ideas about the benefits of different design features, problems they encounter with their turnout gear, and topics on which they need additional information.
Cornell Cooperative Extension has for several years sponsored summer internships through the College of Human Ecology and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with the intent to foster student outreach in local communities and to strengthen Cornell’s missions of teaching, research, and extension.
