We have come a long way from the days of denim jeans and cotton shirts being standard issue workwear on wildland fire lines. Recent advancements in fabric technology have resulted in a large variety of materials that significantly improve firefighter safety and performance. This guide provides a basic evaluation criteria for wildland firefighters to select the right fabric for their specific needs.
NFPA 1977 Certification
When selecting a fabric for Wildland PPE your first question should always be: is the fabric certified to NFPA 1977? The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has established standards for virtually every aspect of the fire service to continually improve firefighter safety. These standards are based on decades of research and should be considered the bare minimum for departments and individual firefighters to adhere to. NFPA 1977 covers wildland clothing and protective gear, if a fabric is not certified to this standard you should not buy it, hard stop.
Inherent Vs. Treated Fire Resistance
Not all fire resistant (FR) fabrics are created equal. Inherently FR fabrics are composed of fibers that were engineered to be FR from the start. In contrast, treated FR fabrics rely on a chemical coating process to make non-FR fabrics (typically cotton) fire resistant. Treated FR fabrics are generally less expensive than inherent FR fabrics on the front end, but ultimately carry a higher cost of ownership because the FR treatment degrades over time. This eventually renders the fabric as non-fire resistant, and unfit to protect the wearer, forcing them to purchase new PPE before the garment itself has worn out.
Photo credit: Ryan Ling
CrewBoss is committed to providing our customers with long lasting garments that are proven to be fire resistant through their entire service lives. For that reason we only manufacture wildland garments with inherently FR fabrics.
Radiant Heat Protection
Protection from burns due to radiant heat is a critical objective for Wildland PPE. When evaluating fabrics for their protective properties the key stat to look for is RPP, or Radiant Protective Performance. RPP is measured in seconds, and describes half the time it would take for 2nd degree burns to take place behind a fabric when it is exposed to a specific amount of heat (21 kW/m2 to be exact).
Photo credit: Pablo Sanchez
NFPA 1977 requires wildland fabrics to have a minimum RPP of 7, however fabric technology has advanced to the point where there are now options on the market with RPPs greater than 11. For Type 2 crews, tankers, and other personnel who are not expected to engage directly with the fire the NFPA 1977 RPP minimum is a solid guideline to follow. That said, Type 1 crews, and firefighter on the wildland urban interface should consider upgrading to more advanced fabrics with higher RPP ratings.
Stay Tuned For Part 2
Flame resistance and heat protection aren’t the only factors to consider when selecting your wildland fabric. In our next post, we will cover durability and the increasing importance of breathability for firefighter safety.
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The CrewBoss team has decades of experience in helping wildland firefighters select the right fabric for their specific needs. Please fill out the form below if you have questions about any of the information in this post, or would like assistance in creating your own wildland PPE specification.
