Speaking at today's Risk Versus Results Roadshow, clothing specialist Dave Frodsham, W.L. Gore and Associates, described the challenges of protecting firefighters.

The thermal performance of fire kit needs to be considered across a range of fireground exposures, Dave Frodsham told delegates gathered for the first roadshow at the Hilton Hotel, Gatwick. User input is essential, he said, to ensure performance standards are met. Pointing to US problems with firefighter injuries occurring whilst the structural integrity of the kit remains sound, Mr Frodsham said that models have been developed to predict time to pain and burn, but he stressed that testing needs to evolve to try to represent the real life situations that firefighters face. He emphasised that no single test represents all of reality.

Chair Dave Matthews added that user input is essential to pursue concerns at European standards meetings, made problematical due to lack of UK representation on CEN and ISO committees (http://www.fire-magazine.com/content/article.aspx?Id=12292), a recurring theme at the seminar.

FIRE will report from the next roadshow at Birmingham City Football Ground on November 2nd.

 

Posted October 19th, 2011 at 1245 by Andrew. Comment by emailing: andrew.lynch@pavpub.com