WASHINGTON, D.C. - A DHS-funded program, spearheaded by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), aimed at developing a new generation of improved protective clothing for fire fighters, has marked a key milestone with the successful evaluation of its prototype Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The federal government contract supported IAFF's Project HEROES (Homeland Emergency Response Operational and Equipment Systems) and missioned the fire fighters association and its project team to rapidly develop, prototype, and field structural fire-fighting gear that provides improved chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) protection without sacrificing thermal protection, comfort and functionality.
Five firefighters from the Fairfax, VA, Fire & Rescue Department - representing a variety of body types, gender, and ages - were put through its Training Academy's Work Performance Evaluative (WPE) protocol while wearing the new, more protective Project HEROES ensemble. The result: each of the fire fighters volunteered for further evaluation and gave a "thumbs-up" for the Project HEROES ensemble over their current gear.
The WPE is used by the Department to measure an individual's ability to perform essential fire-fighting functions within a timed period. The results were "extremely successful," said Rich Duffy, Director, Occupational Health, Safety, and Medicine for the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).
The IAFF is the union for professional fire fighters and emergency medical personnel across the U.S. and Canada. It received the contract from the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) with funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of its "Project HEROES" initiative.
The IAFF teamed with a project group composed of leading fire service organizations and major academic institutions -
* International Association of Fire Chiefs,
* International Personnel Protection,
* National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health's National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory,
* Total Fire Group/ Morning Pride Manufacturing,
* University of Arkansas, and
* University of Massachusetts,
- to mount a design and development effort that would result in enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) that would foster user acceptability by following the look and function of current structural fire fighting gear while keeping the additional CBRN protection passive, so that nothing other then donning the gear would be necessary.
"Firefighters currently do not wear structural fire fighting PPE that can protect them in an environment where there has been a release of CBRN agents," Bill Grilliot, CEO for Total Fire Group, and himself, a volunteer fire fighter, explained. "Yet," he continued, "at every response, the fire conditions being faced may also include exposure to chemical and biological agents that may be part of the release."
The results of the testing of the Project HEROES prototype ensemble - which included normal fire fighting activities, such as ladder carries, forcible entry work, high-rise pack carries, pike pole activities, equipment carries and victim recovery simulations - "clearly demonstrated that this initial set of personal protective gear is well on its way to meeting our ambitious goals," declared Jeff Stull, President of International Personnel Protection, Inc..
For example -
* All the fire fighters completed the Work Performance Evaluative protocol without any hindrance or restrictions in the allotted time - "impressive given the fact that they were all able to deliver the same type of performance while wearing the additional protection," said Rich Duffy.
* The field testers reported feeling drier than normal after the test.
* The field testers also reported that the integrated boots and pants (to prevent inward leakage of CBRN agents at this interface area and to help eliminate scalding liquid/hot air flow up the leg) was easy to don, easy to work in and comfortable to wear.
* The five Fairfax Fire & Rescue fire fighters reported better or comparable weight, comfort, flexibility and mobility of the Project HEROES ensemble as compared to their current gear without CBRN protection.
"These positive results," continued Rich Duffy, "certainly validate the commitment to our Project HEROES initiative made by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies.
A complementary Project HEROES development effort is also moving forward with Man In Simulant Testing (MIST) that will assess the CBRN protective properties of the new protective ensemble compared to normal fire fighting protective clothing. Market introduction is slated for mid-2006.
The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 267,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 80 percent of the nation's population. More than 2,900 affiliates and their members protect nearly 6,000 communities in every state in the U.S. and in Canada.
