The Fabric of Our Nation

Searching on recent news about personal protective equipment (PPE) I found this very recent advisory written by Bill Buss for the NFPA Journal. Mr. Buss is a senior electrical engineer for NFPA and is staff liaison for NFPA 70E. As you probably know, the mission of the international nonprofit National Fire Protection Association, established in 1896, is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.

If you are an electrical worker and/or the person responsible for selecting PPE solutions, you'll want to examine this article. Among other things, Mr. Buss speaks to why PPE is needed when equipment doors are closed and the equipment changes state, the implications of working on equipment fed directly from a panel board or motor control center, and the meaning behind increases in the PPE rating for several medium-voltage tasks.

Are you familiar with the U.S. Fire Administration? It is an entity of the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Here you can see the opening page of their Fire Stats offering. It looks like a terrific government resource for professional firefighters.

You may also notice, as I did, the sidebar story on highway vehicle fires. It is something we've discussed here a bit in the past. Highway vehicle fires happen so often, and involve so many emergency responders, including law enforcement personnel, that we have long advocated DRIFIRE FR Performance Wear garments for anyone and everyone approaching these dangerous situations. But just how often do cars catch fire on the highway? Here's what the U.S. Fire Administration tells us:

An estimated 258,500 highway vehicle fires occur annually resulting in 490 civilian deaths, 1,275 civilian injuries, and $1 billion in property loss… "Highway vehicle fires account for nearly one out of every six fires," said United States Fire Administrator Greg Cade. "It is important to focus on vehicle fire prevention and public safety to help reduce the number of vehicle-related fire deaths and injuries."

DRIFIRE offers a variety of garment weights to produce a layered garment system. Layers of DRIFIRE FR Performance Wear garments not only elevate the flame resistance protection, but moisture management is optimized all the way from next-to-skin DRIFIRE garments to our mid-weight and heavy-weight outerwear garments. But while we innovated this layered garment system utilizing our industry-first FR Performance Wear, the wisdom of layered clothing has been well-known and well-proven for many years and remains a top bit of advice from those who know how to stay warm and dry.

A simple Google news search on the expression "layered clothing," produced these top five results:

From this November 4th story for anglers in Connecticut comes the statement: It’s time for hot thermoses, layered clothing, sharp hooks, and good knots—

Here, from an article about a bike tour in California, comes this advice: Bring water and hat (and curious eyes and ears!), and wear comfortable, layered clothing for unpredictable weather.

In Pennsylvania, in a wire report, emergency management professionals offer this piece of advice for people driving through or shoveling snow: If outdoors dress warmly. Wear loose-fitting, layered clothing.

A story about a California release of condors, experts offering the following advice for those planning to witness the event: Visitors should bring food, water, hats, layered clothing and comfortable hiking shoes.

And here's some advice from a sports medicine expert who advises marathon runners on training and equipment. For races, he says: Layered clothing is also preferred.

On a very interesting site called Firefighter Hourly I found this post all about selecting the best gear. It doesn't recommend or suggest any products by name, doesn't favor any brand… but it may be the most useful advice of all for any firefighter or department in the process of selecting personal protective equipment and other gear. Why? Because it warns against falling for the hype, the slick marketing message, the allure of scientific nonsense. Here at DRIFIRE we couldn't agree more. The celebrities in our world are the real-life heroes who go out each day as firefighters, law enforcement personnel, military men and women, and industrial workers in dangerous jobs that pose a risk to life and limb on a more or less constant and routine basis.

Doesn't this excerpt from the Firefighter Hourly post say it all:

The most expensive doesn't mean the best nor does high gloss advertising. The business of keeping firefighters safe is just that-a business. Slick marketing may draw a department in but the cost in the long run in injuries or liability makes it imperative for departments to research their choices.

This post was inspired by DRIFIRE's Vice President of Finance Chuck Rossi. Talking generally about sudden changes in the weather and people's relative preparedness for things — like snow squalls, plummeting temperatures and downpours, Chuck offhandedly remarked, "I’m sure most folks have experienced the heaviness of a wet cotton t-shirt and how they never seem to dry." 

Of course, Chuck followed up by adding that DRIFIRE begins the process of dispensing the moisture once it hits the fabric.

But his comment got me thinking. First, I don't think it is possible to be more miserable in clothing than to be stuck with a drenched cotton t-shirt, especially when it is chilly out. Of course, for most of us, it is a temporary thing, especially if we can get into a quick change of clothes. If not, I bet you could walk around in a wet cotton t-short for about three days before it would dry on your body, by which time you might have pneumonia, right?

Most importantly, though, I thought about what it must be like if there is no opportunity for a change of clothes and no way to get out of the weather. That's why I posted this photograph here. It is from the National Archives and I found it on this site about Vietnam. The caption on the photograph is: Two battle-weary Marines of the 26th Marine Regiment take a break during Operation Bold Mariner, 1969. The operation, on the Batangan Peninsula in Quang Ngai province, was aimed at uncovering and destroying Viet Cong troop locations.

The point is, we often remind people to not get caught in a fire without DRIFIRE. But the other half of our technology — the moisture management part — is very important, too.