Firefighter protection - striking the right balance

The current hot topic for debate amongst fire & rescue services; fibre, fabric and PPE manufacturers and standards bodies is to what extent wearer comfort should be a trade-off against safety. But are we right in thinking that the two are in any way mutually exclusive? In fact, there is a strong case for arguing that for the firefighters, who are, after all, the prime consideration in this debate, there are four key elements which we should be taking into account when considering their overall health and safety.

Paul Gibson, Bristol's International Sales Manager, looks at the issues in this feature published in Asia Pacific Fire magazine in March 2012. With acknowledgements to MDM Publishing Ltd.