Fire brigades are now officially known as fire and rescue services – a title which reflects the changing role and demands placed on them. Fighting fires is no longer the only thing they get called on to do, in fact, it isn’t even the most consistently attended type of incident, according to statistics.
Best garments for firefighters attending high volume pumping incidents
Fire brigades are now officially known as fire and rescue services – a title which reflects the changing role and demands placed on them. Fighting fires is no longer the only thing they get called on to do, in fact, it isn’t even the most consistently attended type of incident, according to statistics.
What are fire and rescue brigades called on to do?
According to the UK Government’s latest statistics (for the year up to December 2019) there were 555,759 incidents requiring fire and rescue service attendance. Of these, 28% (157,156) were fires, including secondary fires (those not involving people or property) – a 12% decrease on the previous year.
False alarm fires were the type of incident most attended at 41%and non-fire incidents 30%.
Non-fire incidents include attendance at flooding, road traffic collisions and animal incidents, along with attending collaboration incidents such as helping other agencies enter/exit from an incident.
44% of the fires attended in the year to December 2019 were primary fires, a 6% decrease on the previous year. Dwelling fires, other building fires and vehicle fires all reduced by similar numbers (between 4 and 5 percent).
Dwelling fires made up the biggest proportion of primary fires, but there have been large decreases in structural fires over the past two decades, due in part to the education and fire safety role of the Fire and Rescue Service, but also driven by an increase in adoption of smoke alarms.
Since October 2015 landlords in the UK have been required to fit smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors where possible, in their properties. Building Regulations also prescribe the type and location of smoke and fire alarm systems for new buildings.
Is firefighter PPE fit for every job?
As the role of firefighters has changed, with response now relatively evenly split between fire and non-fire incidents, are full structural firefighting suits still suitable for every incident?
If brigades only provide one set of response kit, how can it be right for all possible scenarios?
Firefighting kit made for entering fires needs to provide protection from extreme heat and smoke. This necessarily makes it heavy and cumbersome to wear. Is that the right kit to respond to a road traffic incident with people requiring cutting from vehicles? Or to assist with flooding incidents?
Even when responding to fires, how many times do firefighters actually have to go into the flames instead of dealing with the fire from a distance? This raises questions for the industry to answer: does that mean that current turn-out kit is “over-specified”? And does that result in problems of its own, such as firefighters suffering from heat stress, which causes exhaustion, due to wearing hot, heavy kit when its fire protection benefits aren’t required?
What’s the alternative?
This is the key question. There are a host of factors to take into account: operational, safety, stowage, updating procedures, budget… there is no easy answer. However, most would agree there needs to be some improvement.
We make a range of standard and bespoke solutions suitable for differing jobs such high volume pumping, tackling wildfires and attending rescue incidents. The priorities are kit that’s lightweight but also practical and tough. All kit needs to be tough enough to provide protection and designed with practicality in mind.
Some brigades are now using a technical rescue jacket, which can be worn when responding to non-fire incidents.
What other clothing options would work for your brigade? What difference would station clothing that was fire resistant and comfortable make if it meant you could avoid donning full kit for every shout?
Our new product development team works hard to bring to market the best in firefighting kit and we’re keen to reflect the modern firefighting environment. What clothing or kit would you like to see brought to market?
To discuss the options for your brigade, give our friendly team a call on +44 (0) 1332 341030.