Protecting the Firefighter

Firefighters respond to the incidents that are often right away dangerous to their life and health. The difference between injury and safety is often determined by the responder’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). PPE is the first thing a Firefighter puts on to deal with an incident and last thing taken off when the incident is over. Through international consensus like the NFPA process, Firefighter’s Protective equipment has advanced significantly in past two decades. NFPA standards address the performance criteria for PPE as well as “utilization” standard for Firefighter. Varieties of PPE’s are available for Firefighters to deal with Structural, Proximity and Wildland fire and emergencies. The key concept to be taken into mind is that an entire ensemble must be donned completely in order to protect the wearer since a shortcut may open the door to some serious injury/health hazard. Apart from basic turnout gear, SCBA, Body Harnesses, Hearing Protection, Eye Protection and other PPE components must also be considered to protect the firefighters from potential hazards. The effectiveness of PPE depends upon individual firefighter’s good PPE habits and positive PPE attitude.