Wildland firefighters wear different personal protective equipment (PPE) than their structural firefighting counterparts, reflective of the different nature of wildland hazards and firefighting tasks. They also carry a variety of different types of equipment into the fire lines.
Alysha Gray, product marketing director of fire PPE for Lion, says Lion makes VersaPro® and VersaPro Plus PPE that are compliant with both NFPA 1977, Standard on Protective Clothing and Equipment for Wildland Fire Fighting and Urban Interface Fire Fighting, and NFPA 1951, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Technical Rescue Incidents. Gray says that VersaPro® is a single-layer garment composed of Safety Components Sigma fabric for a combination of flash and thermal protection, durability, and comfort and features a bi-swing back, banded crotch, zippered legs, and PCA-reinforced knees and pant cuffs.
1 Lion makes VersaPro PPE that’s compliant with both NFPA wildland and tech rescue standards and also the Station 1 leather boot. (Photo 1 courtesy of Lion.)
2 Fire-Dex makes Wildland PPE from a variety of materials, including TECGEN51, Sigma, Nomex, and WestTech DH. (Photo 2 courtesy of Fire-Dex.)
She adds that VersaPro Plus includes all those features, plus polycoated aramid reinforcement on the elbows, knees, and pant cuffs as well as Lite-N-Dri padding in the knees. Lion also makes the Station 1™ boot that is compliant with NFPA 1977. Station 1 is a 9-inch leather boot with GORE® CROSSTECH® waterproof lining, a steel triple-rib logger shank, and a Vibram® ATS outsole.
Todd Herring, vice president of product innovation and strategy for Fire-Dex®, says the company makes TECGEN51 multifunctional wildland/ technical rescue gear that is dual compliant with NFPA 1977 and NFPA 1951. “The gear is made with TECGEN51+ fabric built with a PFAS-free water-repellent finish that provides optimal strength, breathability, and thermal protection,” he says. The gear has thermoplastic zippers, STEDSHIELD® FR reinforced elbows, cuff warmer pockets, and knees with padded inserts, reinforced boot cuffs, and pass-through pockets.
3 Lakeland Fire + Safety makes its wildland PPE jackets, shirts, and pants in either Nomex IIIA or TecaSafe Plus, along with an all-leather wildland glove with Nomex wristlet. (Photo 3 courtesy of Lakeland Fire + Safety.)
4 VIKING Life-Saving Equipment’s VIKING Shield PPE has a Sigma outer shell and a Gore SR moisture barrier liner. (Photo 4 courtesy of VIKING Life-Saving Equipment.)
Fire-Dex also makes Wildland PPE that’s compliant with NFPA 1977 and is available in either a two-piece or coverall version. Herring says the 32-inch Wildland jacket is available in a variety of materials including TECGEN 51, Sigma, Nomex, and WestTech DH. “The jacket has an inner zipper and outer hook-and-loop closure, a throat tab, two utility loops on the pockets, and a utility hook-and-loop on the chest and cuffs,” he says. “The pants have a zipper fly with snap closure, elastic on the sides of the waistband, belt loops, leather knee reinforcement, 1