Effects of Firefighting Hood Design, Laundering and Doffing on Smoke Protection, Heat Stress and Wearability

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chen I-C ; Deaton AS ; Fent, Kenneth W. ; Horn, Gavin P. ; Kerber, Stephen ; Kesler RM ; Mayer A ; Ormond RB ; Smith, Denise L. ; Wilkinson A
• Description:
  Firefighter hoods must provide protection from elevated temperatures and products of combustion (e.g. particulate) while simultaneously being wearable (comfortable and not interfering with firefighting activities). The purpose of this study was to quantify the impact of (1) hood design (traditional knit hood vs particulate-blocking hood), (2) repeated laundering, and (3) hood removal method (traditional vs overhead doffing) on (a) protection from soot contamination on the neck, (b) heat stress and (c) wearability measures. Using a fireground exposure simulator, 24 firefighters performed firefighting activities in realistic smoke and heat conditions using a new knit hood, new particulate-blocking hood and laundered particulate-blocking hood. Overall, soot contamination levels measured from neck skin were lower when wearing the laundered particulate-blocking hoods compared to new knit hoods, and when using the overhead hood removal process. No significant differences in skin temperature, core temperature, heart rate or wearability measures were found between the hood conditions. Practitioner Summary: The addition of a particulate-blocking layer to firefighters' traditional two-ply hood was found to reduce the PAH contamination reaching the neck but did not affect heat stress measurements or thermal perceptions. Modifying the process for hood removal resulted in a larger reduction in neck skin contamination than design modification. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Firefighters Fires Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Occupational Health Particulate Matter Personal Protective Equipment Safety Temperature
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Personal Protective Equipment Chemical Exposures Combustion Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Firefighting Fire Fighting Equipment Fire Resistant Materials Heat Stress Laundering Particulates Personal Protection Personal Protective Equipment PPE Protective Equipment Protective Materials Protective Measures Smoke Inhalation Temperature Effects Wearability

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• ISSN:
  0014-0139
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Maryland ; New York ; North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  64
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062078
• Citation:
  Ergonomics 2021 Jun; 64(6):755-767
• Contact Point Address:
  Gavin P. Horn, Underwriters Laboratories Inc., UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute, Suite 150, 6200, Old Dobbin Lane, Columbia, MD 21045
• Email:
  gavin.horn@ul.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Ergonomics
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7a07bd4ef0c0c9055e3042fe804b717a3f15e5ad4227c125c557f22b66bc66b03153c30b9fcead789c10c6fb398f6bfe032b37923642b2e853c00fd54d2077b7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225396/cdc_225396_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.77 MB ]