Today’s firefighters wear a wide range of PPE or personal protective equipment to provide protection against harsh fires, various fumes and gases. These fire resistant clothes make a huge difference in the field and allows firefighters to do their job more effectively and safely. Fire resistant clothes, or fr clothing, are engineered to be flame resistant for life due to the different blends of fibers involved with making them. This is accomplished by initially building in fire resistant properties at the molecular level of production. This will ensure protection will not wash or wear and will always provide maximized protection for fire fighters (and other users), no matter how long it has been in use.
For a typical firefighter, their uniform is made up of fire resistant work clothes such as jackets, pants, gloves, boots and other fire resistant or fr apparel. When the alarm sounds in any fire house, firefighters are expected to be in their fr clothing and equipment in about one minute. This can be a difficult when the weight of the equipment can be from forty to eighty pounds. While the equipment can be uncomfortably hot to wear due to the heavy insulation, it keeps the extreme temperatures of a fire away from the wearers body. This is crucial for the safety of firefighters who run into blazing buildings instead of away from them.
Fire proof jackets and other fr clothing keeps fire contained and eliminates the flame when the source of the fire is gone. This makes helps with firefighters who clothes catch fire but can quickly get away from the source. Following every use of fr clothing, the equipment needs to be checked carefully for embrittlement, discoloration, tears or anything that can be a hazard for the wearer. This is the most crucial part of keeping fr clothing safe and usable for long periods of time. If not properly checked over after each use, the wearer is putting themselves and possibly others in danger.
Some of the most important part of a fire fighter’s equipment is their fr clothing. Without it, their job would be much more difficult and nearly impossible to do the job the same. Fr clothing provides a protective layer from the harsh environment fire fighters have to endure on the job. The protective fiber of the fr clothing make is so fire fighters and other wearers can do their job more effectively and safely.