Safety and Your Turnout Gear
DEPARTMENTS
Training Notebook
One common myth around the fire station is that the firefighter with the grimiest, dirtiest, smelliest turnout gear is the best firefighter in the company. He must always be the one right there with the heat, knocking down the flames and facing all the dangers.
All of this dirt and filth seem to symbolize a badge of courage. It might even identify the team leader, the doer, the guy who gets the job done, the person with all the knowledge and expertise.
But is this really the case? Is this person really the best firefighter in the company? Is he the one to lead you into “combat”? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that this person is just the dirtiest?
The dirt and soot are quite an extra load to be carrying around. All of these particles of debris clinging to your turnout gear actually are safety hazards. They are products that have the potential to support combustion—the potential to make your turnout gear a flaming inferno! These particles will reduce the expected life of your turnout gear by abrading (wearing away) the fibers and thereby weakening the fabric.
Furthermore, residues from flammable liquid fires, charcoal, or other similar “dirt” may reduce the turnout gear’s flame-retardant abilities and again create the potential to support combustion. The buildup of dirt also will stiffen the protective clothing. This reduces the gear’s flexibility and restricts your freedom of movement, possibly causing you to fatigue more rapidly.
Why do you wear yellow gear? It is not because the chief or board of fire commissioners thought that it would match the yellow fire trucks. Color coordination is not the reason. You wear yellow turnout gear because it makes you more visible. Dirt reduces this visibility. Dirty yellow turnouts are not very visible.
This presents another safety hazard. You must be visible in a smoke-filled atmosphere. Your life and/or your buddy’s life is at stake and depend on this ability to be seen. Clean turnout gear will help ensure that you are visible.
What about public image? If the public knew the high cost of our turnout gear, they would surely want us to take better care of it so it would last longer. And so we should take better care of our gear. It is designed to provide us with a certain amount of protection. It is supposed to allow us to enter hostile environments with some degree of safety—enough to let us get back out, hopefully without injury. It’s vital to our lives that we take proper and good care of our turnout gear.
In addition, our society associates dirt and filth with lack of self-respect and lack of respect for other people. Your company or department cannot afford to create this type of image.
Clean turnout gear is lighter in weight, lasts longer, and is more visible than dirty turnout gear. It also provides you with the maximum amount of protection that it was designed for and presents a good public image. A clean set of turnouts is a safer set of turnouts.
So, after a good “worker” you must throw your dirty gear in the washing machine and it will come out clean, right? Not exactly. Cleaning your protective clothing is not difficult, but it does require some specific procedures. Follow these five simple steps to ensure that your gear will provide you with maximum protection and durability:
- Check the required manufacturer’s label for proper cleaning instructions.
- If that is not available, spread out the turnout gear and scrub gently with a soft brush and a mild soap. Rinse with clear water and hang to dry in an open area that will allow for ample air circulation.
- Do not machine wash or use a laundry detergent.
- For turnout gear that is soiled by petroleum products, dry cleaning is acceptable as long as it is not done with a perchlorethylene solvent. Also make sure that the turnout gear is not dry cleaned with other fabrics because it may pick up combustible lint.
- If your turnout gear is wet, hang it out to dry in an open, well ventilated area. Never fold or store wet turnouts in an enclosed or confined space.
If you follow these steps and the directions on the required manufacturer’s label inside your gear, your protective clothing will provide you with high visibility, maximum protection, and a long life of service.
If you have specific questions relating to the turnout gear that your company or department is currently using, contact the manufacturer or his sales representative. They are the experts about their own particular product and can answer your questions.
It is always best to follow a manufacturer’s recommendations, but when that is not practical, use the five steps listed above to care for your gear.
Your protective clothing will only be as good to you as you are good to it. Treat it with respect, and it will give you the protection you expect, within its own limitations of course.