Why wear clean firefighting protective clothing?
• NFPA Specifications 1500, 1971, 1851 • NFPA 1500 5-1.5 Structural firefighting protective clothing shall be periodically cleaned at least annually, or as soon as it has been soiled or contaminated as specified in Section 7.3.3 of NFPA 1851 • Health Concerns – Absorption of harmful contaminants into body. • Safety Concerns – Potential ignition of unburned fuels on outer shell during extreme heat situations. • The growing concern for safety in the workplace and the recent revisions to NFPA 1500, 1971 and NFPA 1851 standards for protective clothing and equipment, along with the new OSHA Standards regarding infectious control programs has encouraged Gear Cleaning Solutions to develop this process for the protective garment industry. • Recent medical studies have shown that firefighters exposed over a period of time to chemicals, toxins and carcinogens have a cancer rate twice that of the general population. This increased rate is due partly to these contaminants found in protective cloth
