3 Things to Consider Before Purchasing Flame Resistant Work Clothing
By Ana Torres
If you use marketing campaigns and clothing labels to guide your flame resistant clothes purchases, you’ll find that a variety of apparel claiming performance benefits is available from a wide range of retailers, from discount stores to sporting goods outlets and everywhere in between. However, purchasing clothing labeled as a “performance” garment doesn’t necessarily mean you are buying clothing that will match the safety and comfort demands of your active work day. Electrical workers, fire fighters and workers exposed to open flames or the risk of arc flash on a daily basis must wear apparel that complies with their relevant protection standards. In order for these workers to perform at their peak, however, their garments should not only be compliant, but also comfortable. Before purchasing new performance flame resistant work clothes, consider the following three features and benefits.
Level of Protection:
The first criteria you should look for when purchasing FR clothing or arc-rated clothing is the level of protection required for your role and whether there are specific guidelines you must follow regarding the layering of arc-rated clothing. For example, while historically a lot of people working in hazardous situations used to wear cotton t-shirts as their base layer underneath their FR garments, new 70E guidelines recommend the use of FR base layers in conjunction with FR outer layers to create a stronger barrier of protection against flame and arc flash.
Additionally, you may want to pay attention to what makes the garments you are purchasing flame resistant. Is the garment made from basic fibers, such as cotton, that are then treated with a flame retardant agent, or are the fibers used in the garment inherently flame resistant? FR-treated garments require special care to ensure that the flame resistant properties are maintained after washing, so make sure you pay attention to these details in order to purchase garments that meet your needs and give you the best lifespan possible.
Moisture Management:
Perspiration is the body’s way of cooling off. Sweating allows the body to shed excess heat, thus regulating body temperature. If you are constantly exposed to challenging work environments with high temperatures and flames, you’re inevitably going to sweat. Moisture on your skin and clothes can be uncomfortable at best and dangerous at worst. Sweaty, hot fabrics and skin are the perfect environments for bacteria to grow, leading to unpleasant odor and potential skin irritation. If open flames are part of your daily life, sweat trapped between your skin and your garments can also lead to severe steam burns.
The best way to beat moisture and stay cool and dry is to wear clothing that absorbs sweat off your skin and spreads it out over the fabric to rapidly evaporate. Garments with these properties are oftentimes referred to as “wicking” clothing. High quality wicking clothing is made from fabrics that efficiently absorb or “wick” moisture away from the skin, keeping the wearer comfortable and dry, and subsequently dry quickly by spreading that moisture over a large surface area while maintaining appropriate airflow to speed the drying process.
Finding fabrics that offer protection and moisture management can be challenging, but not impossible. Garments that include lyocell or tencel, a fiber made of wood pulp cellulose, will tend to offer fast wicking or moisture absorption. Additionally, modacrylic is an inherently flame resistant fiber that dries quickly and is used in some of the most comfortable FR garments in the market today.
Comfort:
In addition to keeping you cool and comfortable, quality flame resistant work clothes should allow you to do your job without worrying about what you are wearing. They should move and stretch to accommodate your range of motion, never feeling restrictive, and retain their shape after wearing and washing.
Well-fitted FR performance clothing should not bunch or ride up, nor should it have seams that rub or irritate your skin. Pay particularly close attention to seam placement in your base layers, since this layer will most often be the culprit of skin irritations, given its next-to-skin placement. Outer layers should allow freedom of movement and have durable construction to ensure the integrity of seams, zippers, buttons, and pockets is not compromised through the wear and wash cycle.
By keeping protection, moisture management, and comfort in mind the next time you purchase flame resistant work wear, you’ll be sure to purchase quality work clothes that you can wear all day long without worries.
About The Author
Ana Torres is an author for DRIFIRE, a leading flame resistant shirt and comfortable FR clothing developer that combines safety with comfort and moisture management. DRIFIRE is dedicated to providing quality FR shirts and other FR clothing to military and commercial personnel to protect them from the dangers of their everyday work conditions.