By Alan M. Petrillo

Personal protective equipment (PPE) makers are tackling the thorny issue of helping protect firefighters from carcinogenic particulates and products generated during firefighting evolutions.

Efforts being made by turnout gear manufacturers include protective fibers and fabrics that go into the types of turnout gear being worn, new designs of protective firefighting hoods, and paying close attention to the interface areas of PPE.

Chronic exposures to toxic combustion products and particulates found on firegrounds are believed to contribute significantly to higher occurrences of certain cancers in firefighters according to various studies, especially testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Karen Lehtonen, vice president of innovation and product management for Lion, says that Lion has several initiatives working against contaminants, including an independent service provider of Lion Total Care, which focuses on the care and maintenance of turnout gear, as well as a company that provides digital training devices and props aimed at decreasing the incidence of particulate contamination of firefighters.

PPE Particulate Blocking

“On the PPE front, one of the exciting things we’ve done is partner with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate and North Carolina State University on the Smoke Resistant Turnout Project,” Lehtonen says. “As the manufacturing partner on the project, Lion looked at how we could increase the protection at the interfaces of turnout gear, the cuffs of coats and pants, the bottom of the coat, and the neck area. We studied ways to reduce the ingress of particulates but not impact the donning time of the gear or physiologically affect the firefighter.”

Alysha Gray, Lion’s product manager for fire PPE, says the project first focused on using an existing moisture barrier with improved interfaces to provide an increased level of protection with minimal change to the look or function of the gear. She says that smoke-impermeable fabrics were used at the wrists, at the ankles, and in an internal skirt structure in the coat that prevents smoke from entering. Besides being built into Lion PPE, the improvements also can be retrofitted into any manufacturer’s turnout gear, she points out.

A second design originated by Lion used the enhanced interface designs and incorporated a removable bib onto the turnout pants to prevent smoke from reaching a firefighter’s skin. That turnout design, Gray notes, includes the wristlet and calf protection but no internal particulate skirt on the coat. “As part of the DHS study, we completed Fluorescent Aerosol Screening Test (FAST) testing, and the data showed the turnouts performed well in blocking particulates,” she says. “The prototypes meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1971, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting (2018 ed.).”