Fire resistant clothes help protect firefighters while in the line of duty. Fire resistant clothes are made out of a fabric that is built to specifically be flame and fire resistant for as long as the firefighter owns the clothes. The fire resistant clothes are engineered to have fire resistant properties built into the fabric at a molecular level. This way, the fire resistant clothing will never wear out or wash away. The fire resistant clothes will always be fire resistant, no matter how long it is used in the line of duty.
Firefighters have a variety of personal protective equipment (PPE) which are designed to give protection against fumes, gases, and fires. A firefighters equipment is heavy. It tends to weight from 45 pounds to as high as 77 pounds. This includes the weight of their fire proof jackets, or fire retardant jackets as they are also called. Firefighters are expected to be able to put on all of their fire resistant work clothes in about one minute flat. They heavy insulated fire resistant clothes can be uncomfortable and hot to wear but will keep the extreme temperatures of a fire away from the body.
The National Fire Protection Association imposed equipment standards after World War II. They required that firefighters have a uniform that was made up of numerous layers. One layer was flame resistant, one provided thermal insulation, and another layer was moisture resistant. Fire resistant clothes keep the fire contained in one area and then puts the flames out when the original source has gone out. Most of the flame resistant clothing that is used today are a blend of different fibers. All of these fibers that are in use today are used for industrial protective apparel. They are specifically made, using chemistry, to be flame retardant.
