Turnout gear serves as the only barrier between a firefighter and imminent danger, but it is an expensive investment for a fire department. This gear is a costly purchase and subject to the most intense conditions, including soil and soot that can degrade the material and lead to tears. Proper laundering of the gear will reduce these risks, but few options exist. Now, Miele Professional has created a solution to achieve optimum results.
“Firefighter turnout gear is composed of several layers of high-tech fabrics, including Nomex® for protection from flames and Gore-Tex®, which draws water away from the body, cooling its temperature,” Celeste Kopyscianski, Miele’s professional laundry product manager and resident fabric care specialist explained. “In a typical fire, this gear becomes heavily soiled with soot and residues, which degrades the fabric, making it susceptible to tears and holes and increases risk for steam burns to firefighters.
Traditionally, local firehouses either send their gear out to be laundered and ‘proofed’ for water repellency or wash the gear in house,” Kopyscianski said. “But top loading washers with no special wash programs cannot protect the gear. These residential washers, at best, do no properly clean and reproof gear. At worst, continual washing threatens the integrity of the equipment and can damage it beyond repair.”
In the case of the California wildfires, crews were working round-the-clock in response to the ongoing fires and there was no time to send out gear for laundering between shift changes. Crews are forced to go out with standard machine-washed or hosed-down gear–or with soiled gear. Ready access to a Miele machine would have solved this problem.
According to the NFPA standard 1851, garments should be cleaned a minimum of every six months or after each fire. The code also states that suits are not be cleaned at home or in public laundries due to concerns over contamination. Departments are now faced with a multitude of issues regarding gear. Constant outside laundering is expensive and inadequate laundering in house will reduce the longevity of the gear and jeopardize safety of the crew. Purchasing back-up gear is an additional capital expense.
Miele Professional, located in Princeton, NJ has created a convenient, economical, and proven method for cleaning turnout gear, offering a package of industry-leading washers and dryers with unique cleaning programs and application-specific detergents. The machines are simple and safe to operate, feature a user-friendly display, an automatic detergent dispensing system and a soft-mount design.
“Turnout gear can be washed, reproofed and dried within 2½ hours. This quick turnaround time allows gear to be easily processed between shifts,” Kopyscianski said. “With the largest Miele Professional washer cleaning up to 5 suits in a single load, gear is ready for use faster and the need for rental equipment is reduced or even eliminated, which can mean lower operating costs for your units.”
For more information on the fire turnout gear application, visit: www.professionallaundry.com (Specialty Applications) or contact: Celeste Kopyscianski at 800-991-9380 ext. 2434.
