Firefighter Clothing

Clothing that can protect firefighters so they can protect the public is very much on the mind of University of Idaho clothing, textiles and design professor Sonya Meyer these days. Meyer, UI School of Family and Consumer Sciences director at Moscow, is part of a national project to review wildland firefighters’ clothing to find ways to improve its effectiveness, comfort and safety.

Meyer said one of her students got her to thinking about the project. Her student was a wildland firefighter and very small. She couldn’t find protective clothing to fit her – the smallest shirt was a men’s small.” As a result, the young woman firefighter, whose job required her to carry heavy gear over rough terrain, had to cinch up her belt to make the protective clothing fit. That in turn led to chafing and skin abrasions that led to a fungal skin infection. The project focuses on how to make protective clothing more comfortable and effective for firefighters. The team’s project includes creation of clothing prototypes to improve function and comfort. The team also will study ways to give wildland firefighters better information about how to use and care for their protective clothing.

 

The oversize shirt had other consequences. The gap between the ill-fitting collar and her skin allowed hot embers to fall down her back as she worked.

Nomex, the fire-resistant synthetic fabric that is the common base of firefighting clothing, is likely to remain the standard, Meyer said. Improved clothing design could help address issues like the fabric’s limited breathability and its tendency to chafe unprotected skin.

The fabric’s lack of air flow also could put firefighters at higher risk of heat exhaustion because it trapped body heat.Meyer knows firsthand about wildland firefighters clothing challenges. Her son, Nathan, was a member of the Bitterroot Hot Shots, an elite fire-fighting crew, for five years.