Chapter 5: Firefighter Personal Protective Equipment Flashcards
what is PPE
designed to protect you from hazards and minimize the risk of injury or fatality
PPE usually consist of the following:
o Respiratory protective equipment
o Personal alert safety system PASS
o Helmets, coats, trousers, boots, protective gloves and protective hoods
o Eye protection
o Hearing protection
Types of ppe include:
o Station and work uniforms
o Structural firefighters protective clothing
o Wildland firefighting protective clothing
o Roadway operations protective clothing
o Emergency medical protective clothing
o Special protective clothing such as chemical protective clothing
Station and work uniforms
- They identify the wearer as a member of the organization
- Provide a layer of protection against direct flame contact
- Types of non-fire resistant synthetic materials include
o Nylon
o Iron on patches
o Polyester
o Transfer deckles - Call station work uniform should meet NFPA 1975 requirements
Structural firefighting PPE must meet what NFPA?
- All PPE designed for structural and proximity firefighting must meet the required standards of NFPA 1971
NFPA 1971
- This standard address is the requirements for: helmets, trousers, eye protection, protective hoods, coats, boots, protective gloves
- NFPA 1971 requires that all components must include a permanent label that shows the compliance with the standard
PPE Labels must include the following information:
Manufactures name, identification or designation
Country of manufacture
Month and year manufacture
Size or size range
Footwear size and width
Manufactures address
Manufacturers lot or serial number
Model name, number or design
Principal materials of construction
Cleaning precautions
Firefighters should never alter their protective clothing
o Alterations include:
removing the moisture barrier liner of coats and trousers, sewing hooks loops or clasps on the outer shell, adding combustible deckles to the helmet
The usual temperature limit of structural PPE is
somewhere above 400°F or 200°C
Protective clothing also prevents heat from being transferred away from your body this may significantly increase the following conditions:
o Breathing at heart rate
o Core temperature
o Skin temperature
o Phsychological stress
Helmet is designed to provide multiple benefits during structural firefighting operations including:
o Preventing heated or scolding water numbers from reaching the ears or neck
o Protecting the head from impact injuries caused by objects or falls
o Providing protection from heat and cold
Eye protection: comes in many forms including:
o SCBA face pieces
o Helmet mounted face shields
o Goggles
o Safety glasses
Protective coats
NFPA 1971 requires that all structural firefighting protective coats be made of three components: outer shell, moisture barrier, thermal barrier
o Protective barriers also provide limited protection from: direct flame contact, hot water, steam, cold temperatures, other environmental hazards
Protective hoods
are fire resistant fabric coverings that protect your ears, neck and face from exposure to heat, embers and debris
o They covered areas that may not be productive by the SBA such as: face peace, earflaps, helmet, coat collar
o Pull the hood on before the protective coat to help the hoods skirt under the coat
o To ensure secure seal between the hood on the SCB a face peace, secure the face peace first before pulling up the hood
Design features required by NFPA 1971 include:
retrospective trim
wristlets
collar
close your systems
drag rescue device
Retroreflective trim
strips of reflective trim on the torso and sleeves that make the coat more visible at night
wristlets
fabric interface between a sleeves end and a firefighters palm that protects the wrist from water, embers and other debris
Collar
protects the neck from water, embers and other debris
Close your system
snaps, clips, zippers or Velcro fasteners at secure the coats front
Drag rescue device
harness and hand loop at the back of the neck that enables a rescuer to grab and drag a down fire fighter
Protective trousers
are constructed from the same fabric, moisture barrier, and thermal layering used in protective coats
Protective gloves
protect hands and wrists from heat, steam or cold penetration, and resist cuts punctures in liquid absorption
Protective footwear
they protect the foot, ankle and lower leg from: puncture wounds to the soul, crushing wounds to the toes, scalding water contaminated liquids, burns from members of debri
Personal alert safety systems (PASS):
Past devices assist rescuers trying to locate trapped, unconscious or incapacitated firefighters. They emit allowed alarm to alert other personal letter firefighters in danger
o The alarm activates with a firefighter is motionless for more than 30 seconds or when a firefighter presses the emergency button
In some models this system I activate when the temperature exceeds a preset limit
Personal alert safety systems (PASS) DB min requirement and setting requirements
o The alarm must be at least 95 dB and must go off continuously for at least one h
o Have at least three settings off, alarm, and sensing. They also have a pre-alarm mode that activates if you were emotionless for 30 seconds. The pre-alarm tone is different from the full alarm tone
Hearing protection
- NFPA 1500 requires hearing protection devices
- Firefighters should use hearing protection when riding on an apparatus
- You must also we’re hearing protection when operating: power tools, apparatus pump, generators, pass device tests
- In some situation hearing protection is impractical may even be dangerous for example during a structural firefighting it prevents you from communicating with other firefighters, hearing changes in fire behavior, hearing radio transmissions, hearing calls from a trapped victim
Wildland PPE
- What my PPE and equipment includes:
- Gloves: made of leather or inherently flame resistant materials
- Goggles
- Jackets made of high strength flame resistant fabric such as Aramid or treated cotton
- Trousers
- One piece jumpsuits
- Long sleeve shirts
- Helemets
- Face/neck shrouds
- Footwear typically lace up safety boots with lug or grip treated souls
- Fire shelter: fire resistant aluminized fabric covers that protect the fire fighter from convected and radiant heat
- Load carrying or loadbearing equipment
- Respiratory protection: APR air purifying respirators, powered air purifiying respirators PAPR
- Chainsaw protection
- Wildland protective garments will not protect you from extreme heat
Roadway operations clothing
must have reflective trim and five. Breakaway fasteners at the shoulders, side and waste to meet NFPA safety standards in the US and the CSAZ1006 series of regulations in Canada
Safety considerations for PPE- actually read
o Always consider the designed purpose of your PPE and its limits
o Moisture in the shell in liner material can transfer heat rapidly resulting in serious steam burns always ensure that the garment is dry before wearing into a fire
o PPE insulates you from the heat of a fire, this will protect your life but it will also delay your awareness of temperature increases
o Never wear protective clothing that does not fit
o Make sure that the overlap between coat and trousers is a minimum of 2 inches at the waist when you bend over at a 90° angle
o Donning standard protective clothing will significantly impair your balance and g
o Thermal burns may occur at compression points where the garment layers are pressed together such as under the SCBA shoulder harness, along sleeves in contact with the hose lines, and on knees when kneeling on hot debris and embers
o The thermal environment will heat the exterior of the PPE resulting in thermal saturation that can cause contact burns
o Prolonged exposure to hot environments will cause your body to sweat in order to cool itself the protective clothing liner will retain the moisture produced by sweating which may cause heat stress or burns
o PPE is designed to protect you but it is not designed to protect against fire condition such as backdraft flashover or other rapid fire development
o PPE observes heat which delays he transferred to the where this he can build up until the PPE is hotter than the ambient temperature
o Heating a PPE’s Velcro fastener confused the Velcro components together
o Eventually build up a heat with penetrate through all the layers of PPE and can cause burns and raise a firefighters temperature
o RIT and rescue personnel must exercise caution and where the fire fighting gloves when trying to remove firefighters from superheated PPE
PPE and Hydrocarbon contamination
will reduce the fire resistance of your PPE
Inspecting PPE for damage or contamination:
o At the start of your work shift
o After every use
o After washing, repair or decontamination
o On a periodic basis such as weekly or monthly
Conditions that you should look for during inspection: actually read all
o Soiling
o Contaminations
o Missing or damaged hardware and closure systems
o Physical damage including rips, tears, fraying hems and cuffs, and damage stitching on the seams
o Wear due to friction under arms, in the crotch and at the knee and elbow joints
o Thermal damage including charring, melting, discolouration and burn holes
o Shrinkage
o Damaged or missing retroreflective trim
o Loss of reflectivity of show on proximity equipment
o Cracks, meltng, abrasion or dents in helmet shell
o Missing or damaged face shield or hardware
o Missing or damaged ear flops or neck shroud
o Loss of water tight integrity in footwear
o Damage to or faulty installation of drag rescue device
o Date of manufacture to determine time and service
NFPA 1851
defines four types of cleaning for PPE: routine cleaning, advance cleaning,speacilize cleaning,contract cleaning
Routine cleaning
does not require the clothing to be removed from service the process for routine cleaning includes
Brushing off loose debris with a broom or soft bristle brush
Using a gentle spray of water to rinse off debris and soil
Advanced cleaning
should be performed by trained personnel and includes using a washing machine
Specialize cleaning
is required when clothing is contaminated with hazardous materials or body fluids I cannot be removed by routine or advance cleaning
Contract cleaning:
contract cleaning typically removes accumulated grime or contaminants and done by contractors who perform specialized cleaning
SCBA
Self contained breathing apparatus
- SCBA protection include any activities that may take place in or near a potentially immediately dangerous to life and health IDLH environment as defined in the AHJ’s policy
- SCBA should be worn during overhaul operations
Atmosphere supplying respirators (ASRs)
provide breathable air when working in oxygen deficient, toxic or gasfield atmospheres
o Only filter particulates out of the surrounding air
o Primary type of respiratory protection that you will use in the fire service
Common respiratory hazards include:
oxygen deficiencies
elevated temperatures
particulate contaminates
gas and vapours
fire and gas vapours
non fire and gas vapours
airborne pathogens
Oxygen deficiency
one containing less than 19.5% oxygen
o When oxygen concentrations fall below 18% the human body increases its respiratory rate
o Combustion is the most common cause of oxygen deficient atmospheres
o Oxygen deficient atmospheres also current confined spaces such a sewers, chemical storage tanks, grain beans, underground caverns
Or where carbon dioxide total flooding extinguishing systems have discharged
Elevated temperatures
inhaling heated gases can cause pulmonary oedema which can cause asphyxiation
Particulate contaminates
small particles that may be suspended in the air and are harmful to the respiratory system
Sources of particulate contaminates include:
Vehicle exhaust emissions, chemical reactions, heated metals or metal compounds, combustion
exposure to particulate contaminates can cause:
Asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, COPD, premature death