Firefighters in Chicago wearing rubber three-quarter boots and jacket Firefighters in Montreal in full turnout gear during a fire Bunker gear (also known as turnout gear, fire kit and incident gear) is the

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elect ...

(PPE) used by

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

s. The term is derived from the fact that the trousers and boots are traditionally kept by the firefighters bunk at the

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

to be readily available for use.

History

left, Toolbelt with gloves and tools The modern firefighter's helmet was developed in 1830 by luggage maker Henry Gratacap, a volunteer firefighter in New York City. This helmet is recognizable today as the "New York" style of helmet, and has retained the same basic shape. The helmet had a brimmed front to affix a leather shield, usually adorned with a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

name and number. It featured eight rib sections on the dome for added rigidity and a long rear brim that channeled water away from the wearer's neck. The combination of modern triple-layer turnout gear with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), personal alert safety system (PASS) device, and modern communications equipment is intended to provide protection against smoke, heat, water,

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

flashover A flashover is the near-simultaneous ignition of most of the directly exposed combustible material in an enclosed area. When certain organic materials are heated, they undergo thermal decomposition and release flammable gases. Flashover occurs wh ...

s, and even direct flame for a short time. Modern turnout jackets and pants are made of fire-retardant fabrics, mainly aramids such as Nomex and

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...

or polybenzimidazole (PBI). In the United States, the

National Fire Protection Association The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a U.S.-based international nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property damage, and economic loss due to fire, electrical, and related hazards. , the NFPA claims to have 5 ...

publishes the requirements for fire protective clothing under NFPA 1971, ''Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting''. In order to comply with the NFPA standard, protective clothing is required to be tested and certified by independent third-parties, and bear the certifying body's logo and a compliance statement.NFPA 1971: Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting, 2007 Edition. National Fire Prevention Association: Boston, Massachusetts. 2007 Such third-party certifications are issued by the Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) and UL Solutions.

References

External links

Statue of Liberty Fire Brigade

Examples of Fire Helmet Fronts
{{Fire fighting Firefighting equipment

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links