DHS S&T helps to redesign wildland fire fighter protection gear
DHS S&T helps to redesign wildland fire fighter protection gear
18 February 2015
published by www.hstoday.us
USA — In 2011, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) approached the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorates First Responders Group (FRG) requesting assistance in developing prototype garments to better protect against heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which CAL FIRE said more firefighters experience than burn injuries.
Working with a team at the University of California, Davis, they developed technical and design specifications for a new uniform aimed at increasing the comfort and breathability while maintaining the current level of protection against flames.
According to DHS, FRG began coordinating with CAL FIRE, California fire departments and the US Forest Service which previously established a working group of wildland firefighters to investigate improvements to their garments to address the heat exhaustion issue. After years of development and testing, the group collectively improved wildland fire advanced personal protection garments, and have published a report on FirstResponder.gov in the hopes of assisting other wildland firefighting organizations.
According to FRG Program Manager William Deso, DHS said, the group considered improvements to the whole garment ensembleundergarments, socks, shirt and pantsduring the effort. Deso partnered with the US Army Natick Soldier Systems Center (Natick) to identify a fabric for undergarments that would not melt or drip, would wick away sweat, and would allow the material to breathe. DHS said the Department of Defense had already developed and issued an advanced fabric for undergarments and socks for deployed military members for use during thermal blasts. This allowed Deso and his team to focus on development of the shirt and pants.
We were able to use garments that the DoD had previously developed and that saved time and money, Deso explained.
They then advertised to identify fabric manufacturers that met CAL FIREs specifications, and sent samples to North Carolina State University, which manages a leading personal protection equipment (PPE) laboratory, for verification testing, DHS said.
In addition to developing the new shirt and pants with material that had better breathability, Deso worked with the wildland firefighters to ensure the actual garments were comfortable, more user-friendly, and better suited to their mission.
We had a clothing designer come to our working group meeting, Deso said. He talked to them to find out what they wanted and required in order to make the garment functional for their specific tasks. He built a garment that incorporated the specific features identified by the firefighters and wore it to the next meeting so they could look at it on him and evaluate it. They provided input; he made adjustments.
According to DHS, It took three iterations, but the wildland firefighters finally had the design they wanted. Deso distributed the garments and began testing in the field in late 2012, and received feedback from firefighters on the garments performance. Based on that feedback, FRG tweaked the uniform and distributed a limited number of a second-generation version for additional testing in 2013. Deso and his team documented the process, the fabric and the garments performance in a report to allow other wildland firefighters, not just CAL FIRE, to benefit from the development effort.
DHS anticipates transitioning PPE into the commercial market, where vendors are already indicating interest in making this a possibility by requesting the report and patterns.
We hope folks will use the report and that wildland firefighter procurement officials will compare what they currently have to whats available. These new garments offer the same level or better of protection and are much more comfortable, Deso said.
