The special clothing for firefighters – the normative requirements and original research results

Abstract

The firefighters work in extreme environmental conditions and have to solve a wide variety of problems during their work. These can be rescuing and firefighting actions or removing effects of accidents or natural disasters. In order to protect, not only others but also themselves, they must be focused as much as possible in order to avoid mistakes. Optimal conditions for such work could create so-called thermal comfort, characterized by a thermoneutral state of a body. Lack of thermal comfort can also cause an increased number of mistakes. That is why it is so important to select the right protection and to know the impact of the protective clothing (special clothing) on the thermal sensation of firefighters. This article presents the requirements for special clothing for firefighters, the results of thermal insulation tests of the above-mentioned clothing and the analysis of thermal sensations of its users (by PMV index).