Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Structural Fire Fighting Protective Ensembles

The first edition of NFPA 1851, effective February 9, 2001, was developed by the Technical Committee to be a “companion” document for NFPA 1971. NFPA 1851 is written for end users of structural fire fighting clothing to provide guidance in the maintenance of their personal protective ensembles.

We at Quest Enterprises, Inc. share the common goal of providing clothing to the fire service that will offer the best protection against the hazards of the work environment. Proper maintenance of this vital equipment to the health and safety of the fire fighter cannot be emphasized enough.

To assist our customer departments in the job of maintaining Quest™ clothing, we furnish the following information to end users:

1. A USER INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTION GUIDE as required by
NFPA 1971-2000 (para 3.2) is attached to each garment in a manner that
the end user must remove it to use the garment.

2. A three-ring binder entitled Selection, Care, And Maintenance of Personal
Protective Equipment (SCAM) is assembled for customers, containing:

• the department’s specifications (reference for future bids)
  
• a computer-generated list of garments produced in each order with
  name (if applicable), size, and identification number
  
• a full-page form for each individual garment (identified by date of
  manufacture, serial number, and to whom issued) for
  documentation of inspections, cleaning, and repairs through the
  garment’s life.
  
• NFPA 1851 Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of
  Structural Fire Fighting Protective Ensembles 2001 Edition

Routine Cleaning
NFPA 1851 does not endorse particular laundry products, nor do we. We do concur with the instructions on Cleaning and Decontamination outlined in Chapter 5 of the standard. For routine cleaning many liquid detergents are fine, as long as the product has a pH range of not less than 6.0 pH and not greater than 10.5 pH. Temperatures for machine washing and drying should not exceed 40° C (105° F),

Specialized Cleaning
As an increasing number of departments purchase commercial machines for in-house laundering of protective clothing, we are more frequently asked for recommendations on laundry products. Vendors of commercial washers may be new to this industry and not familiar with the characteristics of fabrics used in protective clothing. The products that are excellent for other applications—hospital and hospitality industries may not be appropriate for turnouts.

There are several specialized cleaning products on the market. However, before using any products on your protective clothing, review the label or Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and ask the manufacturer of the cleaner these questions:

1. Has the product been tested on synthetic fire resistant fabrics? If protective clothing is not listed as a safe application for the product, it can be assumed that testing may not have been conducted on such materials. The NFPA required tests include tear resistance, thermal resistance, shrinkage, and vertical flame—all conducted after 25 washings.

2. Will the manufacturer or sales rep provide a letter warranting their products are entirely safe to use on structural fire fighting clothing? If the clothing is damaged in any way during washing, liability should be shifted away from the department. If the manufacturer is unwilling to provide such assurance in writing, they may not have tested their product on your particular materials.

Two commercially available cleaners which do meet the above criterion are:
Versitol™ by Winsol Lab 800-782-5504 and Citri-Squeeze 888-727-3230

For contamination involving body fluids, LYSOL brand hospital cleaner is a disinfectant which is safe to use on protective fabrics. It can be purchased in gallon containers by calling 800-677-9218 or at your local industrial cleaning supply house.