Protective clothing for firefighters
Published: 01 July, 2005
PPE must provide the right level of protection for the anticipated exposures without causing undue stress to the firefighter. It should be remembered that for complete protection, as well as protective clothing for the upper and lower body, the firefighter will require other suitable PPE to protect the head, hands and feet, as well as vision and hearing and respiratory protection might also be required as applicable.
Risk and protection
In choosing the type of clothing needed to protect firefighters, the first question to ask is: “Exactly what do I want the protective clothing to do?”
To answer this, it is necessary to carry out a Risk Assessment, which entails listing the hazards the firefighter might encounter during his/her work, estimating the likelihood of him/her being exposed to each of these hazards - and the possible consequences of such exposure.
This will highlight the most serious risks that the firefighter should be protected against and allow a decision about the protection that the required clothing should provide. The objectives of a firefighter on reaching an incident can be summed up as:
* The saving of life and provision of humanitarian services; * The prevention and minimisation of damage to property and * The prevention and minimisation of damage to the environment.
The role of a firefighter’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is to protect the firefighter whilst enabling him/her to achieve these objectives, whilst also safeguarding the firefighter in the event of the necessity of emergency escape. The PPE chosen must also allow the firefighter to carry out his/her duties without undue stress being caused as a result of wearing the PPE.
Protective clothing requirements
Different exposures, different geographical locations and different Firefighting tactics will result in firefighters being exposed to different levels and types of risk.
It is possible to have a very high radiant heat source with much lower air temperatures - and vice versa. For example, urban firefighters may be regularly exposed to high air temperatures with little exposure to radiant heat and flame impingement, whereas firefighters who cover the risks in an airport or oilfield may often be exposed to high levels of radiant heat and severe danger of possible flame impingement at relatively low air temperatures.
In the colder climates of the North, many houses will have double - or even triple - glazing, whereas in tropical climates, houses have single glazing - or even no glazing at all. So, naturally, the levels of heat and the risks of internal heat build-up can differ substantially from region to region.
Firefighters who are trained in aggressive firefighting tactics (which might include entry into burning buildings) will require different levels of protection from firefighters whose tactics do not allow them enter burning structures when there is a potential danger.
These examples are not given to show that one form of firefighting is better or worse than another, rather they highlight the fact that firefighting tactics differ - and therefore the requirements for firefighter protection will differ.
The best people to decide upon the type and levels of personal protection to be provided are the people responsible for doing the job.
Some types of protective clothing used for fighting include:
* Clothing manufactured from chemically treated fabrics. This type of clothing, often used by process operators as workwear or by firefighters as stationwear uses a material impregnated with a fire-resisting treatment. The treatment in these fabrics is activated by intense heat, producing gases and free radicals to smother the fire.
The speed with which this activation occurs depends on the thermal exposure and weight of fabric. The advantage of this type of clothing is that it uses a material that is widely available and relatively inexpensive. However, it has a number of disadvantages.
Once put in use, unless continually retreated, the actual level of protection that the fire-resisting treatment provides is unknown. When exposed to flame the treatment left in the garment will be flashed off with accompanying highly toxic gases.
The treatment will wash out over a period of time from user-perspiration, when being cleaned or when exposed to firefighting water and environmental water e.g. rain, sea etc. Flame-resistant properties can be effected on exposure to certain laundering conditions.
* Clothing manufactured from inherently resistive fabrics:
These materials are man-made and their protective properties are built into the fibre at the manufacturing stage. This means that these properties remain in the material for the lifetime of the material and do not degrade. Well-designed and well made protective clothing manufactured using these types of material not only provides a high level of protection, but is also comfortable to wear, allows flexibility of movement and is easy to maintain.
Firefighters Clothing
In firefighters’ intervention clothing, the required level of protection is achieved by the use of a multilayered garment i.e. a series of materials each with its own special protective properties, combined in a material assembly and manufactured as a garment. In modern firefighters’ clothing, it is usual that up to four layers of material are used either separately, or with two or more layers laminated or sandwiched together.
- The outer layer should protect against danger from fire and mechanical damage to both the User and the garment.
- The Moisture Barrier should protect against water from firefighting and from the environment entering the garment.
- The Thermal interlining should provide a high level of insulation by entrapping as much air as possible.
- The Inner lining should provide the “last line of defence” in the event of failure of the other layers and it should also protect the Thermal interlining.
* Clothing manufactured with a reflective outer surface. Clothing manufactured with an outer material with a reflective surface is still in widespread use for firefighting in many countries. This type of clothing relies on the ability of the surface to reflect intense radiant heat but it has the disadvantage that when the surface becomes damaged for whatever reason - e.g. cracking during storage, reduction in reflective shine through wear, smoke etc.
Unless the backing material assembly and the method of manufacture is of good quality and substantial, the protective properties of this type of clothing is greatly diminished. z
