PURCHASING PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
BY ANDREW E. POMPE
Self-direction and experience are vital attributes when undertaking the arduous task of selecting personal protective equipment (PPE) for a major fire department. One also must know what products are available, be familiar with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards, and possess effective communication skills. The goal, of course, is to purchase the best equipment available while staying within your budget. Networking can help ensure this goal. With this in mind, the following guidelines, based on my experience in a major metropolitan department and the experiences of the departments with which I have consulted, are presented here. These guidelines, in principle, can be adapted for smaller departments.
HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT WE NEED?
When entrusted with selecting PPE for your department, what resources should you use? Among the resources that can help you determine what PPE will best meet your department`s needs are the following:
The firefighters in your department. Ask if they have any concerns with the current PPE. If so, have them explain such concerns fully. What would they like to see improved?
Other fire departments. Ask what they are wearing and whether they made any recent changes.
Injury statistics for your department. They can help you identify areas in which the PPE may be weak. Analyze the data to determine which types of injuries have occurred most frequently and the steps taken to reduce them. If analyzed correctly (while not imputing any individual or department), this type of data, ideally from several departments comparable to yours, can help build a foundation of concerns and actions on which to base your decisions. NFPA standards. These standards are written to provide the minimum performance requirements necessary for PPE. The 1996 edition of NFPA 1971, Standard on Protective Ensemble for Structural Firefighting, was due out in August 1996; but because of several controversial changes in the standard, it may not be completed and released until February 1997.
A word of caution on referencing NFPA standards. A few years ago, several firefighters in a major metropolitan fire department filed a lawsuit against a clothing manufacturer, citing that the manufacturer`s garment label did not provide enough warning to firefighters about burn hazards. When the manufacturer stated that the label was an NFPA label used by several clothing manufacturers, the judge ruled this defense inadmissible on the reasoning that the NFPA was an advisory panel with no power of enforcement. (This label issue will be addressed in the upcoming edition of NFPA 1971.) The point is, don`t rely on NFPA standards to come to your aid when your decisions are challenged by your chief or a lawyer, although the standards are used as guidelines. Be sure to have demonstrable evidence and documentation as your first line of defense if (and most likely when) you are challenged.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
Instituting a process for purchasing PPE provides continuity. Frequent turnover involving the individual responsible for purchasing PPE affects the relationship between manufacturers and fire departments. Once a manufacturer has established a relationship with a specific individual in a department, both parties benefit by having a clear understanding of the department`s wants and needs. When that individual leaves the department, that communication link is broken and the manufacturer and department have to start over. The newly assigned individual must become knowledgeable about the PPE industry. It could be years before both parties become comfortable with each other. Having a process or systems approach in place will expedite the learning process, indicate the direction and actions already taken, and provide a starting point for the newly assigned individual. This approach can help you keep up with the rapidly changing technology that encompasses the protective clothing industry. The selection process has the following components, which a department may modify, skip, or redefine.
Determine the needs of the department. Since all fire departments are not the same size, do not have similar geographic and climatic environments, and do not share the same tactical philosophy, each department should do a needs assessment. The level of protection required from PPE will be determined by the assessment, which will address items such as the types of fires to which your department responds. (For example, for the ABC Fire Department located in a moderately sized city with residential buildings, industrial parks, and a small downtown area with several high-rise buildings, residential fires would be the most common response. Other responses would include auto accidents, medical responses, and an occasional building collapse.) You can also learn about the types of incidents most common to your department from your records.
Next, determine the degree of protection needed for your responses: what temperatures are commonly experienced in residential fires? What would be a typical high heat exposure time? Approximately how long are your firefighters in the “heat of the battle”? (Many firefighters asked this question in an informal department survey reported three to five minutes.)
In our department, we have determined that we fight mostly residential structure fires, we are an aggressive interior attack fire department, and typical heat exposure is three to five minutes at around 300°F. Therefore, we know we need PPE that will provide adequate protection in this type of environment. This may be a good time to mention that while flashover conditions–those in the 1,000°F degree temperature range and above–do occur, there is little PPE can do to protect a firefighter exposed to these extremely high temperatures for even a short time. Training and experience, along with PPE, are paramount to surviving a flashover.
Develop a solid field test program. Field test, wear test, and field evaluation all have the same meaning in this discussion. They represent a means by which a fire department can try an item of PPE to determine its usefulness and compatibility before purchasing it. Establish a PPE committee instead of distributing field test items arbitrarily. The committee should be representative of the workload a particular item of PPE would endure–for example, if evaluating bunker gear, members from engine and ladder companies and heavy rescue units from different geographic locations (if possible) should serve on the committee. If the item to be tested is a helmet, committee members might include personnel in EMS, haz-mat, or other units where wearing a helmet is required. Department records also will indicate which firefighters are best suited for testing specific items, based on their workloads and responsibililities. In most cases, obtaining input from a good cross-section of quality end-users gains more acceptance of the item in a department than just putting it in service.
Finding quality end-users or evaluators to serve on the committee can be a challenge. Invitations to serve could be extended through interdepartmental communication. Although the response may be limited initially, once the word gets out in the department, you`ll find that you will be able to tap into your department`s greatest resource–its members.
How many volunteers will be needed to validate your program is difficult to determine. It is a question that should be decided on the basis of statistics instead of an educated guess. However, since the items under evaluation are either donated by the manufacturer or purchased by the department, money enters into the equation. Without dwelling on this matter, try a simple and totally unscientific sample size such as one percent of your department`s membership. After conferring with several other departments and working out the math, I found that in the majority of these departments, field tests involved one percent of their population. Smaller departments may want to use a higher percentage if their budgets permit.
The field testers must be trained. Would it make sense to give a field tester a new set of bunker gear in January and tell him you`ll get back to him in April, July, October, and December for some comments? Of course not! But how many of us do just that? If you`ve followed the above steps, you are on your way to a successful field test program. Don`t jeopardize it now. Take the final step, and educate your field testers so they can provide informed, descriptive, and intellectual responses. Provide the testers with a schedule that provides for evaluative comments at regular intervals. Indicate the types of data they should be collecting and what characteristics to evaluate.
Education can take many forms. For the average firefighter, hands-on training combined with classroom instruction works better than classroom instruction alone. Giving the testers samples of products to evaluate enables them to touch and feel, increasing their awareness of and interest in the products and promoting important feedback. Field tests should last for as long as it takes for a product to be exposed to the most difficult situations to which it is expected to be subjected. Allow for seasonal variations, which can have a great impact on a product`s performance. Don`t rush or be hurried by eager sales personnel. Remember, your decisions may greatly affect the safety of your firefighters.
Choose the correct materials for your department. As technology increases, so does the confusion surrounding the materials available for firefighter protective clothing. Not taking into consideration any NFPA 1971 (Standard on Protective Ensemble for Structural Fire Fighting) or OSHA standard change(s), which will occur in 1996-97, let`s discuss selecting materials in today`s market, focusing on bunker gear. Keep in mind that this systematic approach or process can be applied to most types of PPE.
Where would you begin in selecting materials for your PPE? What resources would you use? A good starting place would be your own department. Determine the reason(s) in support of what is being purchased today. Are the members satisfied with the performance? Are the administrators satisfied with the cost effectiveness? What reasons were you given for the proposed change? Most fire departments do not change PPE on a regular basis; therefore, other fire departments–preferably departments that share the same firefighting strategy and climatic environment as yours–are good sources of information on selecting materials. But any experiences offered will be useful.
Organized groups are also good re-sources. Among those I have consulted include SAFER (Southern Area Fire Equipment Resources), NAFER (Northern Area Fire Equipment Resources), CAFER (Central Area Fire Equipment Resources), and FIERO (Fire Instructors Emergency Response Organization), which are run by firefighters who discuss safety issues on a regular basis. Attending major fire trade shows provides excellent opportunities to see what the clothing industry has to offer and, most importantly, have your personal questions answered by manufacturer representatives.
The manufacturer is another major resource. Manufacturers are always available to answer questions and, in most cases, to assist you in developing concepts, protocols, and design features. Be careful when specifying proprietary features, such as specific reinforcements, thermal-liner systems, and sewing styles, or you may unknowingly be limiting your competition and possibly be increasing the purchase price.
Any reputable manufacturer will provide material samples (swatches) that will be terrific training aids for your field test evaluators. The samples allow evaluators to feel the materials, understand their physical properties, and evaluate the expected level of performance. When accompanied by technical reports, evaluators can decide to test or eliminate a particular material (or product) with some certainty–and before a lengthy evaluation takes place. When conducting an evaluation, you want to see all the latest innovations in PPE; but after some scrutiny, the number of choices can be decreased, enabling the evaluators to stay focused on specific material performances. Many choices in PPE are available. Those meeting your department`s needs in firefighter safety and comfort and cost ultimately will be identified through careful field test evaluations and thorough product research.
Ideally, more than one manufacturer should participate in the bid process for the garments selected by field test evaluators, to keep the process competitive. At least two manufacturers that have products acceptable to your department should participate throughout the bid process. Acceptance of a product might be determined by considerations such as after-sales service, delivery time, and research and development capabilities. In cases where the field testers find several manufacturers with acceptable products, the decision of which manufacturer to target may involve additional considerations, one of which may be service. In such a situation, remember the service you received from each manufacturer during your field test. Which answered your most difficult questions with sincerity and (hopefully) honesty? Another way to gauge a manufacturer`s service is to contact that manufacturer`s customers, another aspect of networking. Ask the manufacturer for a list of customers; then make sure you follow up by contacting the customers. Be wary of a manufacturer that constantly puts down its competitors. Ask manufacturers to document the reasons they give for buying their products.
If delivery time is a crucial consideration to your department, make sure the manufacturer understands your delivery demands and can meet them. When checking with the manufacturer`s customers about quality of service, it would not hurt to ask them about the manufacturer`s ability to meet deadlines. Another important consideration is whether the manufacturer has an adequate research and development department. Sometimes problems with PPE can develop with no explanation, and a quality manufacturer will have the resources to help you resolve them. In the financial world, you are reminded that past performance is no indication of future performance. The same applies to procuring PPE. Stay informed, become actively involved in the process, and don`t accept a single recommendation from a fire department or manufacturer. Check out all recommendations.
Prepare the written specification. How many of us have received training in how to write PPE specifications? Where did we gain our knowledge or expertise in writing specifications? If you are like most of us, you received no formal training and are actually learning on the job. Perhaps you used an old specification left lying around by your predecessor to maintain an inventory and now that you have totally embraced the selection process want to write your own specification. Where should you begin? It is important to understand the bid process, especially the “low” bid process under which most fire departments operate. Fire departments, in an attempt to be fiscally responsible, offer a specification that would allow several manufacturers to bid, and the lowest bidder receives the contract. This assumes, of course, that the manufacturer has met your specification without exceptions. This is very important. Bids containing exceptions (other than those allowable in the specification) should not be accepted as responsible bids and should be rejected. The next lowest bidder (who meets your specifications) would then be awarded the contract. The language contained in the specification now becomes paramount to the successful outcome of the bid process.
When writing your specification, be specific to your needs yet generic enough to allow competitive bids–always keeping the safety of the department members as the primary consideration. As noted, be careful of using proprietary features that may restrict competition and your chance for competitive pricing. If you want something bad enough–for example, delivery within three weeks–put it in the specification. Do not put items you can live without in the specification; you would only be adding cost unnecessarily. Define your goals, identify what is needed to meet them, and then incorporate those features/conditions in the specification.
Control can be maintained throughout the bidding process by requiring field tests and determining which exceptions will be accepted. Field testing prior to bidding establishes which manufacturers have shown you acceptable products and eliminates bids from unknown bidders. This process also helps demonstrate that the best products are being purchased for your department. If a manufacturer submits an exception with its bid, often the procurement department will evaluate and determine whether it is acceptable. The fire department, which has the technical knowledge, is left out of the decision process. By adding a clause in the specification that you (or your office) will be responsible for determining the acceptance of manufacturer exceptions, you maintain control over purchasing products that will meet your specification`s intention.
Today, fire departments are handling a much more diverse workload than they did 15 or 20 years ago. How to protect firefighters from all the hazards they face through the use of PPE is an ongoing challenge. No one person, fire department, agency, or manufacturer has all the answers; collectively however, they represent the best resources available for making informed and intelligent decisions concerning the purchase of PPE. Ask questions; expand your network; challenge the manufacturers; become involved in the national standard-making process; and, above all, remember that firefighters, the end-users, are the driving force in the PPE industry. Without us, there would be no industry. Consult your resources often; they can only enhance your chances of purchasing the best PPE for your department. n
WHAT IS PERSONAL
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT?
Since “firefighting” is identified mostly with fires involving structures, this article is focused on personal protective equipment used for that purpose. Personal protective equipment consists of a coat-and-pant ensemble (called bunker or turnout gear), a helmet, protective hood, boots, gloves, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and personal alert safety system (PASS) devices.
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
The primary purpose of personal protective equipment is to protect the firefighter from the hazards of the job. Several sources of unequivocal data indicate that firefighting is one of the most dangerous jobs in America today, in spite of our increase in awareness toward safety.
The long-term health illnesses that have plagued firefighters for years, such as lung cancer and heart disease, still exist today. The toxins resulting from incomplete combustion given off in today`s house fires are deadly not only to the occupants but to well-intentioned yet inadequately protected firefighters. A firefighter has to realize the benefits of personal protective equipment early in his career and maintain this awareness throughout his career if he is to have a sustainable quality of life after leaving the fire service. n
ANDREW E. POMPE, CFPS, is a captain and 1812-year veteran of the Philadelphia (PA) Fire Department, currently assigned as the deputy safety officer. He is a certified fire protection specialist and a member of the CFPS Board of Directors. He has a bachelor`s degree in fire science administration and a master`s degree in safety engineering and lectures on personal protective equipment and other safety-related topics.
