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Care and Maintenance of PPE
Lately we have had a few issues with our people keeping their gear in order. I wondered what everyone else does. I want to have a training class on care & maintenance of PPE.
We tend to go through gloves & hoods. I realize they are easily lost and that does happen. They aren't made to last forever but they are your tools and your protection and they need to be kept serviceable. They can be washed!! There is a tag on them that tells you how to wash them. Why people like to wear them until they are so disgusting with sweat & smoke they are stiff I don't understand. But I tend to preach about keeping your gear clean, not because it looks better but because it also lasts longer. Besides, it isn't as unpleasant to inspect if it isn't icky. It is easier to find places where it is compromised if it isn't patched over with dirt & mud. Dirt, smoke & body fluids are removable.
When gloves or hoods are wet, as they are when they've been in use and aren't properly dried they, like any other fabric, will mold or mildew. Fungus will eat holes in them. PPE will also mold & mildew. Particularly the lining, which also has the vapor barrier & is much of the protection of the gear.
Gloves can be washed with soap. Check the tag first. A scrub brush & some detergent will work, as it will on all your gear. They do tend to get wet anyway (I've never seen a firefighter with dry gloves at a fire) and they are sometimes difficult to dry but again, they keep you safe and it’s worth the effort. If they are compromised in some fashion, you will find that out when you clean them. If they have holes or abrasions and such they need to be replaced.
There certainly are times when your PPE needs professionally cleaned. We use Globe to do that. There aren't any local places qualified to inspect the gear and clean it the way it should be done. We ship it to them; they clean it & make repairs if possible or send it back & let us know that it cannot be repaired so we take it out of service. Pants/coats soaked in gasoline should be rinsed. Enough water will take the petroleum out. But if they are severely exposed they should be cleaned professionally if nothing else to have them checked by a professional. The longer the petroleum is left on them, the more likely it is that they won't be useable after it has soaked in and dried into the material, what ever it is made of.
PPE can be washed. The manufacturer will recommend non-chlorine detergent. I put mine in the washing machine. Some people don't like to do that at home and take it to the Laundromat to use the big machines. You can take the lining out of the shell and wash them separately. That helps them to get clean, not be so heavy when they are wet and dry faster. Air-drying is best but if you are in a hurry, they can be put in the dryer on the low setting. It is noisy. You can also scrub it down & rinse it with a water hose and lay it over something to dry. While you are cleaning it always check it for rips, tears, dropped stitches, lose fasteners etc. and report problems to whom ever is responsible for it. I realize that there may not be extra gear for you to use until yours is repaired/replaced but being out of service is better than being hurt or worse because your gear wasn't in good shape.
Care & maintenance guides come with all new PPE, coats, boots, and helmets. It is a REALLY GOOD IDEA to keep a copy on file for each brand you purchase. If your gear isn't new, contact the manufacturer, or a sales rep or look it up online to get the information.
I recently cleaned my Chief's helmet after a particularly nasty fire. He didn't like the idea but I couldn't tell if the spider webs across it were dirt or if there were cracks in the helmet. I know the dirt & grime are battle scars & everyone is proud of them but they might be masking some serious flaws that could mean your "skid lid" is compromised and isn't going to protect you as well as it is supposed to. In that case, it does need replaced. Helmets can be scrubbed. Most of them have removable liners that can also be cleaned. Face shields can be washed with soap & water.
I took a Lieutenant’s helmet out of service that had been through a flash during search & rescue. The shield was melted, the stickers were bubbled and the crest of the helmet had a crack in it. A big crack. I told the officer he could keep it as a souvenir but he needed a new one before he went into another fire. Some how, for some reason, someone decided to take the tag off. The equipment officer re-issued the helmet to another Lt. ????? New policy - if it is tagged as compromised/unusable, it immediately goes to the Chief & Equipment officer to be taken off the inventory and either goes home to hang on someone's wall OR I personally will take it to the dumpster. I won't "trust" anyone else to make sure it gets done ever again.
PPE isn't disposable. It needs to be cleaned, inspected and taken care of properly. Its the service life of your gear and is as important as possibly being what saves your life.
We tend to go through gloves & hoods. I realize they are easily lost and that does happen. They aren't made to last forever but they are your tools and your protection and they need to be kept serviceable. They can be washed!! There is a tag on them that tells you how to wash them. Why people like to wear them until they are so disgusting with sweat & smoke they are stiff I don't understand. But I tend to preach about keeping your gear clean, not because it looks better but because it also lasts longer. Besides, it isn't as unpleasant to inspect if it isn't icky. It is easier to find places where it is compromised if it isn't patched over with dirt & mud. Dirt, smoke & body fluids are removable.
When gloves or hoods are wet, as they are when they've been in use and aren't properly dried they, like any other fabric, will mold or mildew. Fungus will eat holes in them. PPE will also mold & mildew. Particularly the lining, which also has the vapor barrier & is much of the protection of the gear.
Gloves can be washed with soap. Check the tag first. A scrub brush & some detergent will work, as it will on all your gear. They do tend to get wet anyway (I've never seen a firefighter with dry gloves at a fire) and they are sometimes difficult to dry but again, they keep you safe and it’s worth the effort. If they are compromised in some fashion, you will find that out when you clean them. If they have holes or abrasions and such they need to be replaced.
There certainly are times when your PPE needs professionally cleaned. We use Globe to do that. There aren't any local places qualified to inspect the gear and clean it the way it should be done. We ship it to them; they clean it & make repairs if possible or send it back & let us know that it cannot be repaired so we take it out of service. Pants/coats soaked in gasoline should be rinsed. Enough water will take the petroleum out. But if they are severely exposed they should be cleaned professionally if nothing else to have them checked by a professional. The longer the petroleum is left on them, the more likely it is that they won't be useable after it has soaked in and dried into the material, what ever it is made of.
PPE can be washed. The manufacturer will recommend non-chlorine detergent. I put mine in the washing machine. Some people don't like to do that at home and take it to the Laundromat to use the big machines. You can take the lining out of the shell and wash them separately. That helps them to get clean, not be so heavy when they are wet and dry faster. Air-drying is best but if you are in a hurry, they can be put in the dryer on the low setting. It is noisy. You can also scrub it down & rinse it with a water hose and lay it over something to dry. While you are cleaning it always check it for rips, tears, dropped stitches, lose fasteners etc. and report problems to whom ever is responsible for it. I realize that there may not be extra gear for you to use until yours is repaired/replaced but being out of service is better than being hurt or worse because your gear wasn't in good shape.
Care & maintenance guides come with all new PPE, coats, boots, and helmets. It is a REALLY GOOD IDEA to keep a copy on file for each brand you purchase. If your gear isn't new, contact the manufacturer, or a sales rep or look it up online to get the information.
I recently cleaned my Chief's helmet after a particularly nasty fire. He didn't like the idea but I couldn't tell if the spider webs across it were dirt or if there were cracks in the helmet. I know the dirt & grime are battle scars & everyone is proud of them but they might be masking some serious flaws that could mean your "skid lid" is compromised and isn't going to protect you as well as it is supposed to. In that case, it does need replaced. Helmets can be scrubbed. Most of them have removable liners that can also be cleaned. Face shields can be washed with soap & water.
I took a Lieutenant’s helmet out of service that had been through a flash during search & rescue. The shield was melted, the stickers were bubbled and the crest of the helmet had a crack in it. A big crack. I told the officer he could keep it as a souvenir but he needed a new one before he went into another fire. Some how, for some reason, someone decided to take the tag off. The equipment officer re-issued the helmet to another Lt. ????? New policy - if it is tagged as compromised/unusable, it immediately goes to the Chief & Equipment officer to be taken off the inventory and either goes home to hang on someone's wall OR I personally will take it to the dumpster. I won't "trust" anyone else to make sure it gets done ever again.
PPE isn't disposable. It needs to be cleaned, inspected and taken care of properly. Its the service life of your gear and is as important as possibly being what saves your life.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jenny Holderby on
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Thanks Tony, but I am famous for losing gloves & hoods because I have a habit of giving mine to someone whos gear is missing. I'm the SO, I don't always need mine as much as the others so I will "loan" them to a firefighter missing theirs and often don't get them returned. In 20+ years, I don't think I have ever actually misplaced a pair of gloves or a hood or any other piece of my equipment. (except flashlights for the same reason) I'm not exactly sure HOW it happens. Other than the fact that as I mentioned in my original rant, they are left wet & dirty in pockets & then mold or mildew & aren't wearable. Our call volume isn't the heaviest. Sometimes it is weeks between calls where some of our folks will respond in PPE. I miss calls because a lot of ours are MVAs during rush hour, if you can call it that but it is between 3:00 pm & 5:00 pm when school lets out or sports practices are over and folks are trying to get home from work. We also have a lot of medical first responder calls but very few actual fires.
I have been negligent in encouraging them to care for their gear. We have several new firefighters who haven't really had a lot of experience and don't realize that there is a reason we don't leave PPE and/or equipment (like SCBA) laying on the back of an apparatus. I walked into the station one night after several of our members had returned from a training session and found SCBA packs laying in the floor, bottle down, and the face pieces on the back of the truck. I think they ALL heard that explosion immediately and then again in the next meeting. One of my biggest peaves besides dirty gear is the SCBA, even if it is extra sets not in use on the apparatus. When they are used, they are put away properly with full bottles, clean packs, clean masks, with all the straps completely "let out". It is easier to shorten the straps than to spend time trying to release the clips to make them longer.
At some point, they will GET it, even if we have to have training classes over & over & over again.
As for your gear being sent for cleaning, perhaps they will go on a rotating schedule so they won't have ALL of them at one time.
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Permalink Reply by Dewayne and Diana Bean on
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PPE is expensive and needs to be taken care of our department has limited funds as do most, also your gear is YOUR responsibility and No one else's!
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Your PPE is your responsibility but it is also the FDs responsibility to make sure you do take care of it. If something goes wrong & your gear isn't up to par, that goes back on the FD, not the firefighter. That is why we do frequent inspecitons to help project what is going to have to be replaced and have repairs made if necessary. In doing so, we've also realized that certian brands of gloves don't have the service life that others do and that the particular helmets we have now have issues with face shields and straps being damaged through normal wear.
Firefighters have to be taught how to take care of their gear particularly if they weren't issued a care & maintenance document with their PPE. New firefighters have to be taught (and others reminded @ times) how to wear PPE. Some don't know that it CAN & should be washed. They assume that they only need to send it to be professionally cleaned when it has been contaminated. They don't want to do that, and often don't want to wash it because they believe it will take too much time and they don't want to be out of service for the next call.
I think this is another area where a well planned, well executed policy/proceedure is in order. I didn't realize that until recently when we have had a number of new members who really haven't been taught that it is necessary and their responsibility to clean their gear.
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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Ah Jenny, you 'lose' gloves to people who've been slack, you don't lose them through misplacement! Big difference. Everyone can mispolace an item of equipment at some time. Nobody should be in the habit of doing so! Those in your FD who have that habit may be coming to rely on you to cover their carelessness?
Training sessions for the correct care of PPE and equipment - sounds like a good idea to me! When people complain, you can point out how often members are failing in this. Failure to properly take care of the stuff that could save our lives.
Cleaning our structural PPE? Yes, we've been advised that there will be a schedule in place to allow all gear it's regular clean and check. A four working day turnaround is wnat we've been promised for this. If it works it'll be OK. But I'm always a bit cynical.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Our SOP dictates that all PPE must be washed at least twice a year. We have a household washer and dryer at the firehouse for the purpose, with instructions posted so that all members can know how to do it. We also provide the detergent, which sits on the shelf next to the washer.
We've applied for a grant to get a commercial extractor/washer, although I'm not holding my breath. The extractor spins at a much higher speed than a regular washer or dryer resulting in drier gear coming out of the washer. With this type of washer less air drying time is needed.
Our interior firefighters have two sets of turnouts, one to use while the other is drying out. I suppose that the lack of a back-up set of gear keeps many FFs from cleaning their gear when it needs it. There is also that "cool" look to consider...
I've been told that fire gloves can go in a regular dryer on the air fluff setting; I haven't tried this and keep 2 sets of gloves so that one pair is always dry and ready to go.
What folks need to realize is that dirty gear reeking of the last fire is contaminating the air with the radicals and other combustion by-products that make up the "dirt" on the gear. If you can smell it, it's out-gassing the same bad crap that SCBA keeps out of our lungs. Until the gear is cleaned properly, it should not be kept in your car, or house, or just about anywhere because those spaces will also become contaminated.
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Permalink Reply by turk182 on
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We bought a heavy duty washer from lowes and wash the equipment in there.
I know it is not how it is supposed to be done but it is better than not washing it at all.
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Permalink Reply by Dale on
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i was watching a training video that stated this fact, that the older guys like used worn gear, they say that most burns arnet from fire.. but from the heat, and the only way heat gets to them is threw that old gear, that "look" that shows he does all the work can one day seriously hurt him
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