By DONALD ZENDER
A well-maintained ensemble is the firefighter’s best protection against the dangers encountered on most calls. When properly maintained, turnout gear shields the wearer from heat, moisture, and common household chemicals, but when allowed to remain soiled or damaged, an ensemble can compromise safety, resulting in injury or even death. Yet firefighters and chiefs alike don’t always recognize the critical role ensemble maintenance plays in firefighter safety.
The Thermal Protective Performance (TPP) values of protective garments decline markedly when they are not kept in optimal condition, and the risk of heat transfer subsequently increases. Firefighters in poorly maintained gear may experience discomfort, at best, but also may suffer life-threatening burns. Further, because soiled ensembles can mechanically degrade over time, the wearer risks electrocution; and if not washed correctly, the garment itself could ignite and burn. Poorly maintained gear can fail to protect the wearer from toxins, chemical contaminates, and carcinogens, too. Over time, a contaminated ensemble can create long-term health issues for the wearer or anyone else who handles it.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1851, Standard on Selection, Care and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting, 2008 edition, provides specific recommendations all fire departments should follow to keep turnout gear in the safest condition for maximum protection.
The standard calls for advanced cleaning prior to reuse, advanced inspection of all protective ensemble elements, and exhaustive record keeping, but accomplishing these tasks can be time consuming and expensive. Proper maintenance requires specialized and costly equipment, repair materials, and training. Those who choose to complete advanced repairs in-house must be tested and certified each year by a third party, which is an additional and considerable expense.
Departments often choose to pass advanced maintenance, and the liability that goes with it, to professional cleaning services, but firefighters can still perform the basic record keeping, cleaning, and inspection of the gear that could save their lives.
RECORD KEEPING
The NFPA says that complete records for each ensemble should be maintained, from the date of the ensemble’s issue through its disposal date. Firefighters can fully document repairs, advanced cleaning and decontamination, and advanced inspections, along with such information as the manufacturer, serial number, and garment size. Note all relevant details, either through written records or a computerized database.
CLEANING
Although washing ensembles contaminated with heavy concentrations of flammables, resins, or blood-borne pathogens might best be left to experts in or out of the station, firefighters can handle the light soot, dirt, and hydrocarbon buildup garments accumulate during daily firefighting conditions.
Clean garments in an NFPA standard-compliant industrial washer at a water extraction speed of less than 100 g-force (G) and a water temperature of less than 105°F. This avoids ruining the liner and moisture barrier. To avoid leaving soap residue, which has a dangerously low flash point, on the garments, firefighters should not wash with more than the recommended amount of detergent. The detergent should have the proper pH, between 6 and 10.5, which will clean but not damage the ensemble, and the ensemble should be either air-dried or dried in a mechanical dryer at less than 105°F.
INSPECTION
After an annual cleaning, use a built-in inspection port to complete an advanced inspection of the inside and outside of the gear. Liners without a built-in inspection port must be carefully opened up at the seam and properly sewn back up after the inspection by qualified personnel with the correct equipment and thread. During the routine inspection, some red flags to watch for follow:
- Damage to the exterior, including tears, burns, cracks, dents, and abrasions, or missing or loose hardware and hook-and-loop closures.
- Loss of reflectivity; fabric degradation from exposure to the sun’s UV rays; or brittle material, including the leather fittings.
- Loss of strength or integrity of major and minor seams, loose or missing seam tape, or damage to the seam stitches.
- Movement, bunching, or shredding of thermal liner materials.
The NFPA calls for complete liner inspection after at least three years in service and annually thereafter, or whenever routine inspections indicate that a problem might exist.
Most personnel will gladly perform these tasks once they understand the ramifications of improper ensemble maintenance. Given the serious implications of noncompliance with a care and maintenance program, adopting NFPA 1851 could become one of the least controversial issues facing fire departments.
DONALD ZENDER is founder and president of Apex Fire Services, a Columbus, Ohio-based NFPA 1851-compliant ensemble cleaning, inspection, maintenance, and repair specialist. Apex Fire Services is an NFPA member, a W.L. Gore Crosstech Certified Repair Facility, and a FireDex Warranty Repair Center and is licensed by Yoc Strap to manufacture, install, and service drag rescue devices.
