Fire Technology 2020: Impact of Repeated Exposure and Cleaning of Protective Properties of Structural Firefighting Turnout Gear

Prepared By: Gavin P. Horn, Richard M. Kesler, Hannah Newman, Jacob W. Stewart, and Denise L. Smith, Illinois Fire Service Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, MC-675, 11 Gerty Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, USA  
  
Gavin P. Horn and Steve Kerber, UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute, Columbia, MD, USA  
  
Jessica Andrews, UL LLC, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA  
  
Kenneth W. Fent, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH, USA  
  
Denise L. Smith, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA  

Published July 26, 2020  

The US fire service has become acutely aware of the need to clean PPE after fires. However, there is concern that damage from repeated cleaning may impact critical protection from fireground risk. Using a protocol that included repeated simulated fireground exposures and/or repeated cleaning with techniques common in the fire service, it was found that several important protective properties of NFPA 1971 compliant turnout gear are significantly changed. These results suggest that some important protective properties of bunker gear can be decreased after repeating exposure/cleaning cycles relative to their levels when tested in a new condition. The findings for this study may have utility for setting preconditions for the measurement of certain performance properties in future editions of NFPA 1971.

Access the Report at:  https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10694-020-01021-w.pdf