| Editor’s note: Check out the first part of Choosing Where to Clean Turnout Clothing, which focuses on in-house facilities. |
Having looked at fire department considerations for conducting in-house cleaning of turnout clothing in the previous article, we can now focus on an alternative — the use of independent service providers. Independent service providers, or ISPs as they are sometimes referred to, are care and cleaning facilities that are independently owned and operated away from the fire department.
Typically many of these companies specialize in the cleaning of turnout clothing, but there are some that provide other types of services or general laundry services. Not all ISPs are equally competent or capable for handling turnout clothing. One of the ironies of turnout clothing is that while it’s designed to protect firefighters from incredibly hazardous environments, improper cleaning can easily destroy the clothing and drastically shorten its service life. Therefore, departments must be judicious in their selection of a reliable ISP.
NFPA 1851, Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Structural and Proximity Fire Fighting Protective Ensembles, defines several requirements around ISPs. As part of the revised edition, for the first time the standard sets criteria related to garments only for the independent “verification” of ISPs through the use of a certification organization.
In this verification process, the ISP must perform certain types of repairs and the quality of these is assessed through testing by the certification organization. Repair quality is further tested periodically and the ISP is required to establish and maintain a quality assurance program that is checked by the certification organization. No independent check of the ISP is required for inspection and cleaning services, however. Instead, ISPs are required to be trained by the respective manufacturer. The thinking is that the manufacturer is in the best position to train and ascertain proper practices with respect to their garments.
While it is possible for the manufacturer of the turnout gear you are using to recognize an acceptable ISP for your garments, there are other concerns that should be addressed. The appendix of NFPA 1851 provides a list of questions to be asked and answered to the department’s satisfaction before the ISP is selected. These questions follow, together with additional information to look for in reviewing the answers provided by the ISP:
1. Can the ensembles or ensemble elements be effectively cleaned or decontaminated? It is important to find out if the ISP conforms to NFPA 1851 cleaning restrictions (in the use of water temperature, acceleration, detergent pH range, and other factors). The best way of showing effective cleaning is the trial washing of soiled garments. In addition, if an ISP is claiming to be able to remove certain types of contaminants, then there should be some evidence that this type of decontamination can be accomplished. The appearance that garments are clean is also not a guarantee that all contaminants have been removed. Many contaminants have no odor and may not leave a stain. Further, don’t be fooled by the smell of “clean.” A clean smell is not necessarily a citrus odor, which is nothing more than a solvent, where some scent/residue remains in the clothing. Rather, a clean smell may be no odor at all. Lastly, the clothing should not be damaged whatever cleaning process is used. Look for abrasion to the trim, fading of labels, excessive collection of lint in hook and loop closure tape, and other early signs of wear to make sure that the ISP is not beating up the clothing.
2. Does the ISP have references for cleaning and/or decontamination of ensembles and ensemble elements? If you are using an ISP that claims to provide these services, check with other departments that have used the ISP to get an understanding for the quality of the services provided. If an ISP is new, you may want to have them demonstrate their services on a couple sets of spare gear first before using their services.
3. Does the ISP have liability insurance to clean protective clothing (i.e., for the repair or replacement of ensembles and ensemble elements damaged in laundry, from wash water contamination, etc.)? Turnout clothing is expensive. Most institutional laundries deal with items like table cloths, sheets and other linens. The relative expense of the clothing mandates some level of coverage or guarantee if ruined by the cleaner.
4. Does the ISP take reasonable precautions to protect its personnel from contaminant exposures while handling ensembles and ensemble elements? An ISP should be showing the same respect for contamination as you would expect your department to undertake. This means separating dirty areas from clean areas in the facility and providing appropriate protection for the individual workers handling the clothing, such as cleaning gloves, aprons and in some cases faceshields. If other types of contaminants are involved (i.e., biological or chemical), then additional, more advanced protection will be needed and separate parts of the facility must be designated for dealing with these hazards.
5. Is the ISP familiar with the requirements of NFPA 1971, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting, and NFPA 1581, Standard on Fire Department Infection Control Program, as well as federal, state and local regulations? The ISP should demonstrate knowledge with the standards on which the clothing is based. This allows the ISP to be aware of the individual components and parts of turnout gear that require special attention such a hook and loop closure and different types of hardware.
6. Does the ISP have a quality assurance program? NFPA 1851 now requires that an ISP have such a program if they conduct repairs. Fire departments should further insist on this requirement for inspection and cleaning operations as well.
7. What type of process does the ISP use? Are Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) available? If the process is proprietary, is it approved by the manufacturer of the ensemble or the ensemble element? Even if it is proprietary, the ISP should be able to describe the process in terms of the length of time, water temperatures, type of machines, etc. Unfortunately, detergent MSDSs do not always yield much useful information on detergents, since many of the chemicals are unrecognizable to all but chemical experts. The more important aspect is how many detergents and cleaning agents are being used, and what the pH range for these agents is. Be wary of processes that utilize a large number of cleaning agents in regular washing.
8. Does the ISP take appropriate steps to prevent cross contamination between any and all products laundered in the facility? As previously indicated, it is important that there be separation between soiled (incoming) and cleaned (outgoing) gear. In addition, ISP workers should wear appropriate protective clothing for handling soiled clothing.
9. How does the ISP demonstrate the effectiveness of the cleaning process? It is difficult without clear cleaning standards for the ISP to show the effectiveness of their process, but in general, washing of spare sets is the usual basis of cleaning claims.
10. What testing or evaluation method(s) are used to ensure that decontaminated ensembles or ensemble elements are truly decontaminated and safe to wear? The only true way to determine if decontamination has occurred is to sample the clothing before and after the decontamination process. Post-decontamination analysis will show how much contamination remains in the sampled sections of the clothing, but won’t provide any information on the efficiency of the decontamination process and may be prohibitively expensive. Unfortunately, the other tough aspect of this process is determining how much residual chemical in the clothing might be acceptable. In some cases, none will be (e.g., asbestos) but in other cases, it requires the judgment of an expert.
11. Does the ISP comply with applicable federal, state and local waste water discharge regulations and standards? Responsible ISPs cannot just dump the waste water directly into the local sewer. There should be some indication for how waste water is treated and that applicable regulations are met.
12. Does the ISP provide delivery and pick-up services for soiled and/or contaminated ensembles and ensemble elements? Many departments may have a limited window for getting gear cleaned and back in service, particularly if members have only one set of gear. Local ISPs that can pick up and deliver cleaned clothing can offer advantages to provide a good turnaround time.
13. Does the ISP have the capability to restore water repellent properties of ensembles and ensemble elements? Though the water repellent finishes on outer shell materials are getting better, garments still lose their ability to shed liquids making them more absorptive over time. The ability of an ISP to properly reapply finishes to clothing to improve water repellency is a plus, but only if it’s done with the approval of the garment manufacturer.
14. What is the turnaround time? As previously indicated, the window may be small for normal advanced cleaning of clothing to not disrupt member use of turnout gear. Some departments rely on spare gear to overcome annual or semiannual cleaning of turnout clothing. There are some ISPs that work out arrangements with specific departments to maintain this spare inventory.
Getting the answers to these questions will help the department decide if the ISP is qualified to provide acceptable cleaning services. Certainly, the department may also rely on the ISP to conduct proper inspections; however, it remains the department’s responsibility to manage the protective garments for its members. Therefore, the choice of using an ISP is critical if the department is going to have confidence in properly maintaining its protective clothing.
