TITAN fabric kit delivers good moisture protection to DFRS employees

26 May '09

3 min read

Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service (DFRS) has always prided itself on being a progressive" service, so when the fire kit that its operational fire fighters had been using for years reached its 15th birthday, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Sean Frayne decided it was time for a change.

'Though the PPE currently provided was sufficient and fit for purpose," said Sean, "the creativity and innovation of suppliers in both design and technology have moved forward significantly since the kit was manufactured. We have an ambitious programme to achieve excellence and so wanted to take advantage of this.'

So DFRS chose to place an order for the provision of two sets of NOMEX TITAN PPE, collectively developed by DuPont Personal Protection and Nomex Quality Partners Bristol Uniforms and Hainsworth, for each of the Service's 826 fire fighters.

'We were very encouraged by the PPE ensembles on offer through the Integrated Clothing Project (ICP),' said Sean, 'but our firefighters had a preference for the NOMEX TITAN PPE, which was no longer available through the ICP process.'

And it was the excellent performance of NOMEX in the ICP's own trials, said Sean, that finally convinced the team to procure the product for his workforce. 'We have very high opinions of the ICP, and we acknowledge and commend the significant work that has been undertaken by them. We believe however that we have an opportunity to maximise on the research and development undertaken through the project by procuring what we consider to be the best PPE for our employees - NOMEX TITAN.'

The NOMEX TITAN product, which is an eye-catching mix of red and grey (tying in with the ICP corporate identity), also looked the part : 'If you ask a member of the community to suggest a colour that most represents the fire service, they're likely to say 'red'. And if asked to describe how a fire fighter looks they will probably describe someone who is wearing PPE. The NOMEX TITAN offering not only suited the Service's modern, professional image and its ambitions to pursue excellence but it also fit these two criteria.'

Kam Basi, Area Manager, Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service, who recently attended a seminar at DuPont Personal Protection headquarters in Geneva summed up : 'DuPont's safety record and safety ethos are second-to-none. Combined with Hainsworth's TITAN fabric and expert tailoring by Bristol Uniforms, the kit delivers good moisture protection as well as outstanding burn injury protection, which is vital to the safety of firefighters.

He saw two of the new fire kits set alight in the Thermo-Man facility at the event. Both times the clothing system, which uses the award-winnig TI-technology' (TITAN) fabric, came out top for wearer protection, with zero burn injury predictions during the first test and 3% burn injury predictions (to the lower leg) during the second test.

TITAN is a patented double cloth construction with DuPont NOMEX on the face to provide optimal thermal protection abrasion reistance and colour fastness, with DuPont KEVLAR protection on the back to provide strength the two layers working together to offer a fabric that provides exceptional comfort themal protection and wear life. TITAN is complemented by Hainsworth's Repel+Fire finish, which meets the chemical protection and sprayrating requirements of EN469:2005, even after repeated laundering.

'This is a bit of a success story for Derbyshire because we're getting what we prefer,' said Sean Frayne. Rather like their neighbour, Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, which recently chose the red and grey fire kit for its own workforce.

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