Thermal Measurements for Fire Fighters' Protective Clothing.
Thermal Measurements for Fire Fighters' Protective
Clothing.
(2518 K)
Lawson, J. R.; Vettori, R. L.
Thermal Measurements: The Foundation of Fire Standards.
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
Proceedings. ASTM STP 1427. December 3, 2001, Dallas,
TX, American Society for Testing and Materials, West
Conshohochen, PA, Gritzo, L. A.; Alvares, N. J.,
Editor(s)(s), 2002.
Keywords:
fire fighters; protective clothing; burns (injuries);
heat flux; predictive models; sensors; temperature
measurements; test methods; thermal properties;
uncertainty
Abstract:
Current test methods used for quantifying the thermal
performance of fire fighters' protective clothing are
not providing information needed to understand why fire
fighters are being burned. Many of the thermal exposures
where fire fighters receive serious bum injuries are
much lower than those specified in current test methods.
In addition, current test methods do not provide a means
to measure performance changes associated with wet
garment systems. New test apparatus have been developed
for measuring thermal performance of protective clothing
systems. A wide range of thermal exposures can be
replicated. These test apparatus can measure the thermal
perfonnance of protective clothing systems that are dry
or wet and also measure performance changes associated
with garment compression. This is an overview of
measurement issues critical to the development of
standards for fire fighters' protective clothing and the
safety of fire service personnel. Research efforts
addressed in this document have been supported in part
by the United States Fire Administration and the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899