NFPA Regs for FF clothing?

[Sigma Safety]

Hi all,


I'm looking for information relating to NFPA standards for clothing that you would wear UNDER your turnout/bunker gear. Specifically, shirts. I know a lot of FF's wear cotton T-shirts. We have an alternative, but I would like to know if there is an NFPA standard that these shirts need to be tested to.


Any thoughts? The only NFPA standards I can find relate to the outer layers (jackets, pants, etc.) but nothing specifically for the t-shirts, underwear, etc.


Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Hi all,

I'm looking for information relating to NFPA standards for clothing that you would wear UNDER your turnout/bunker gear. Specifically, shirts. I know a lot of FF's wear cotton T-shirts. We have an alternative, but I would like to know if there is an NFPA standard that these shirts need to be tested to.


Any thoughts? The only NFPA standards I can find relate to the outer layers (jackets, pants, etc.) but nothing specifically for the t-shirts, underwear, etc.


Thanks for any help you can provide.

The only NFPA Reg I am aware of is NFPA 1975: Standard on Station/Work Uniforms for Emergency Services

 

[MtnMan]

Hi all,

I'm looking for information relating to NFPA standards for clothing that you would wear UNDER your turnout/bunker gear.

Wait... clothing under bunker gear?


Have I been doing it wrong?

 

[FSEP]

Wait... clothing under bunker gear?

Have I been doing it wrong?

Depends... was there music in the back ground?

 

[WS224]

I always take my uniform pants off before putting on my turnouts.

 

[Phoenix_Rising]

I always take my uniform pants off before putting on my turnouts.

must get awfully breazy

 

[foxtrot5]

must get awfully breazy

I've been known to wander around the station in my 5.11 "tactical duty kilt" if you wanna talk about breezy... :thumbsup:

 

[pdk9]

Hi all,

I'm looking for information relating to NFPA standards for clothing that you would wear UNDER your turnout/bunker gear. Specifically, shirts. I know a lot of FF's wear cotton T-shirts. We have an alternative, but I would like to know if there is an NFPA standard that these shirts need to be tested to.


Any thoughts? The only NFPA standards I can find relate to the outer layers (jackets, pants, etc.) but nothing specifically for the t-shirts, underwear, etc.


Thanks for any help you can provide.

1975 is the only one that I've heard of for NFPA. If you really want to go above and beyond, you can check ASTM D6413 (flame resistance testing for textiles); 5.11 tactical referenced both ASTM and NFPA on their former Flash FRX3 line, stating that the FRX3 cotton blend exceeded "no drip" test following ASTM heat exposure testing.


When I was a vollie and there were no uniform requirements for anything under bunker gear, I used to wear under armour shirts and shorts for trainings. My current department, however, does not allow us to wear shorts under the bunker gear and anything other than department uniform (tru-spec cotton/polyester polos & BDU pants, jumpsuits at night, or cotton uniform t-shirts). The LT on the uniform committee claims that under armour-type materials will melt, and, per dept policy, that we're not covered for on-the-job injuries in a fire if we're not wearing dept-issued long uniform pants and 1 of the 2 approved department shirts. However, I never had any problem with UA wicking materials during live burns in the academy in NY, and this particular LT does NOT know 1/10 of what he thinks & claims he knows.


Overall, cotton has seemed to be the safe bet material, considering that most departments (vollie and career) have used cotton shirts for ages and I've never heard of an issue with it (except for extreme circumstances), but ASTM testing would be a good idea (IMO) for a safety and marketing aspect of a clothing line that you're carrying

 

[Sigma Safety]

Thanks all. That's excellent info. The clothing we are carrying is not nylon, so it doesn't melt/drip. Your LT is correct -the Under Armour stuff is just a nylon shirt. They use a coating on it for moisture-wicking but after about 25 washes that coating washes off, so you're left with a basic nylon (plastic) shirt with a pretty logo.


The clothing we have (shameless self promotion link) has passed the OHS 450F for 5 minutes test. It has better moisture-wicking properties than Under Armour (dries almost 2x as fast as UA). The problem with cotton is that it traps moisture so it effectively puts your torso in a 100% humidity environment. That makes it very difficult for the body to regulate its temperature, so it has to work harder in order to stay cool.


You have to remove the moisture so the body can sweat and have that sweat evaporate. The faster you can remove that moisture, the better the cooling. That's why if you stand in front of a fan, you feel cooler - it's because your sweat is evaporating almost instantly. Same principle. I have 8 of these shirts and I don't even put them in a dryer. They come out of the washer and get hung for a bit, and they're dry. It's remarkable stuff. It also has a mineral embedded into the fabric that kills 99.8% of the bacteria, even after more than 50 washings. That means basically no odour trapped in the shirt.


Since heart attacks are the #1 killer of FFs in North America (linkie-poo), and most of those are brought on by over-exertion (heat and stress induced, as opposed to just being in bad shape), we feel that these shirts can be a critical piece of gear for survivability of FF's, especially during high-exertion calls. They also make you a lot more comfortable.


If you do want to buy any, let me know and I'll give you some discount codes for the webstore. You can use HERO15 for 15% off, but if you're wanting to buy some to try, let me know and I can get you further discounts. Testimonials are here , if you are interested.


Thanks for the help. Very much appreciated.

 

[Sigma Safety]

Further to this, it looks like the current version of the NFPA 1975 requires 500F testing.


However, it also says that your clothing have to be labelled as NFPA Certified, and can't shrink more than 10%, etc. etc. Essentially cotton shirts won't work either, according to NFPA...