Fire Resistant Clothing Materials

Refinery workers electricians foundry workers maintenance workers and power and electric utility workers wear fire resistant clothing in the course of their daily duties.

Fire resistant clothing materials. Decorating wedding fashion. A fire retardant is a substance that is used to slow down or stop the spread of fire or reduce its intensity. Synthetic acrylic polyester and nylon fabrics can be hazardous when they burn because the materials can melt and cause burns on the skin when used as clothing fabrics. Polartec started developing performance flame resistant fabric technologies for the u s.

The amount of heat required to ignite these materials is dependent upon a number of factors including the weight texture weave and color of the material. Flame retardant clothing on the other hand is made from materials that have been chemically treated to achieve the same self extinguishing properties. Military in 2003 after combat uniforms began melting against the intense heat of ied detonations. This necessity to enhance safety abilities of fabrics used to protect against worksite hazards became a practical fit for commercial workwear applications.

As you can see the main difference in these two types of clothing are in the garment material. A fire resistant material is one which is designed to resist burning and withstand heat an example of a fire resistant material is one which is used in bunker gear worn by firefighters to protect them from the flames of a burning building. Gypsum board also known as drywall consists of a layer of gypsum sandwiched between two sheets of paper. This type of clothing does not comply with the 269 standard if it can ignite and continue to burn under the electric arc and flame exposure conditions found at the workplace.

These materials will need to be consistent with the original materials used to create the garment so the entire piece retains its flame resistant attributes. Fire retardants may also cool the fuel through physical action or endothermic chemical reactions. Repairing fr clothing with non flame resistant materials can result in the entire garment being compromised and failing. Correctly repairing fr clothing requires flame resistant materials.

Fire retardant materials are designed to burn slowly. Many structural materials will require underlying gypsum sheathing in order to achieve a good fire resistant rating and gypsum board is the most commonly used fire resistant interior finish. Fire resistant materials should self extinguish once the source of ignition is removed. Despite this danger these synthetic fabrics are considered fire resistant fabrics because they resist ignition at much higher temperatures than natural fibers.

Fire retardants are available as powder to be mixed with water as.