Firefighters’ Protective Clothing and Equipment

Abstract

While working in a fire incident, firefighters are protected by thermal protective clothing and equipment (e.g., helmet, gloves). The protective clothing and equipment mainly help to avoid injuries and fatalities by providing them proper protection and comfort. In the last few decades, extensive research and development has been carried out to develop different types of firefighters’ protective clothing (station uniform and turnout gear) and equipment (helmet, flash hood, gloves, boot, and breathing apparatus). This chapter gives an overview and discusses different types of existing firefighters’ protective clothing and equipment as well as the scientific features associated with materials and designs. The discussion on the clothing features revealed several critical factors related to the firefighters’ protection and comfort such as fibre, yarn, and fabric characteristics as well as garment designs. The ergonomically fit, comfortable design aspects and protective materials used for the development of firefighters’ protective equipment are also considered. These discussions on types and features could help to develop a better understanding of the combined protection and comfort properties for achieving the best possible clothing and equipment performance. In the final section of this chapter, various key issues related to firefighters’ protective clothing and equipment are highlighted. It has been found that these key issues are mainly related to the improper designs (non-ergonomically fit) and materials (heavy weight woven/nonwoven fabrics, impermeable fabrics) used in firefighters’ protective clothing and equipment. By improving these design and material issues in the near future, it is possible to provide better occupational health and safety for firefighters.