Development of a Method for Evaluating the Thermal Performance of Fire Fighters' Protective Clothing. ABSTRACT ONLY.
Development of a Method for Evaluating the Thermal
Performance of Fire Fighters' Protective Clothing.
ABSTRACT ONLY.
(99 K)
Lawson, J. R.
International Conference on Fire Research and
Engineering (ICFRE3), Third (3rd). Proceedings. Program
and Abstracts. Society of Fire Protection Engineers
(SFPE), National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) and International Association of Fire Safety
Science (IAFSS). October 4-8, 1999, Chicago, IL,
Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Boston, MA, 1-1
pp, 1999.
Keywords:
fire research; fire protection engineering; protective
clothing; fire fighters; performance evaluation; NFPA
Abstract:
Fire fighters' protective clothing has steadily improved
over the years as new materials and improved designs
have reached the market. A significant catalyst that
has brought these improvements to the fire service is
the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1971
standard on structural fire fighters' protective
clothing. The fabric flammability test in this standard
has resulted in the development of protective garments
that resist flaming ignition. The Thermal Protective
Performance (TPP) test has assisted in the development
of garments that protect fire fighters from short
duration, high intensity, flash fire exposures. These
two thermal tests methods have clearly lead to
improvements in fire fighter safety. However, thousands
of fire fighters are continuing to be seriously burned
each year. Feedback from the fire service has shown
that many of these serious burn injuries are occurring
when fire fighters are exposed to thermal environments
that are significantly less intense than those addressed
in the NFPA standard. Therefore, the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a
method for measuring the thermal performance of fire
fighters' protective clothing under thermal conditions
less severe than those currently found in NFPA 1971.
This report describes a test apparatus and method for
evaluating the thermal performance of fire fighters'
protective clothing. The test method provides a means
for making temperature measures through the various
layers that make up a fire fighter's thermal protective
garment. Temperature measurements are made at the
surface of the outer shell, at locations between fabric
or moisture barrier layers inside the protective
clothing system, and at the thermal liner surface where
the fire fighter's body would be in contact with the
garment. When plotted, these temperature measurements
show a detailed picture of how a protective clothing
system performs when exposed to a given thermal
environment. This method's thermal environment may be
varied from a radiant flux representative of outdoor
conditions on a hot sunny day to conditions that
replicate a post-flashover fire. The test method may be
used for measuring the effects of moisture in protective
clothing systems. In addition, this method provides a
means for measuring the amount of thermal energy stored
in a protective clothing system. Test duration may
range from several seconds to more than 30 minutes.
