Are Bullard fire helmets resistant to chemicals?
Hydrocarbons Hydrocarbons are the unburned portion of fuels in a fire that can be carried by the heat and gases up in the air and deposited on firefighting equipment. The soot often found on helmets after a fire will contain some of these hydrocarbons. This unburned material is the primary source that can attack some of the older thermoplastics used prior to 1992. Although there is a remote chance that some fuel fires could deposit enough hydrocarbons on a recent thermoplastic helmet to create damage, it is unlikely. Manufacturers have not seen any complaints in recent years to indicate that this remains a problem. Solvents Certain chemical solvents can be harmful to fire helmet shells. In practice, this has not been a significant issue in terms of fireground chemical exposures in recent years; it more commonly is encountered in the cleaning of helmets. Thermoplastic materials tend to be more sensitive to chemical attack than composites, and care should be taken in selection of liquid
