ABSTRACT
Firefighters’ clothing is designed primarily to protect the wearer from fire and extremely hot environments. Due to many and varied performance demands, firefighters’ protective garments are typically bulky, heavy, and uncomfortable, imposing a physiological burden on the wearer and in many cases exacerbating heat stress. The engineering challenge is to produce protective materials, material structures, and clothing systems that protect against the hazard whilst maximising the wearer’s thermal comfort. This chapter addresses cases of application of new materials to firefighting protective systems, with a focus on thermophysiological human comfort. Objective laboratory testing and mathematical modelling were used to test the protective materials and their structures for their attributes relevant to comfort. In addition, the fit and ergonomics of protective garments and their effect on the thermal status of the wearer using 3D body scanning technology were assessed.
