Posts by Sabine Myers

Examining the role water plays in firefighters’ everyday lives: 1) Water can be a firefighter’s best friend when used to extinguish fires that threaten the health and safety of first responders and the community.   2) Water can be a firefighter’s worst enemy when a high percentage of water is absorbed into turnout gear materials…

It’s true: PPE enhances safety ONLY when it’s worn the way it was designed to be worn. There are times when PPE isn’t worn as it should because the user isn’t properly trained; other times it isn’t worn correctly because the user is trying to make uncomfortable PPE more comfortable. Fire department PPE committees are…

This is what I would say to a fire department that is contemplating making a switch from a gold, khaki, or yellow outer shell to a black outer shell. The reason for making this statement is that more times than not, fire departments making a switch to a black outer shell become disappointed when the…

There are 3 primary categories of performance that all outer shells share: protection, comfort, and durability. Within these 3 categories are subsets of performance. For example, within the protection category there are factors like Thermal Protective Performance (TPP), strength after a thermal exposure, and resistance to moisture/chemical absorption. Within comfort you may consider factors like…