How To Pick The Right Fire Resistant Coverall?
Now that we have discussed all about FR coveralls, let’s start talking about a few things that can guide you better in picking the best FR coverall for yourself.
When it comes to picking the best FR coverall for yourself, what are the main things you have to keep in your mind? How well should the coverall fit? Are there any specifications that need to be taken under consideration? Are FR coveralls unisex?
These are some of the basic questions that we will be addressing in the buying and caring guide given below. Once you have gone through it, we hope you can make a better choice for yourself and your workers!
Should Flame-Resistant Clothing Fit Well?
When we talk about FR clothing, the main and perhaps most important aspect to take care of is the fit. It should be noted that as a rule of thumb, we always opt for a looser fit. The reason is that a looser fit tends to offer a greater degree of protection.
When FR clothing is looser in fit, we have an added layer of insulation present between the garment and wearer. The extra insulation layer provides protection against the thermal exposure or unexpected flames of fire that you may be exposed to in case of an accident.
As opposed to this, if you are wearing FR coveralls that are skintight there is a higher risk of injury. The reason being that the flames now have a greater chance of being in contact with your skin.
Therefore, it’s always a better choice to allow a certain degree of air cushion to exist between the wearer’s skin and the fabric.
However, you should bear in mind that you are not also supposed to opt for the baggiest option available. Getting the most loosely-fitted piece of FR clothing might seem like a good idea in the start.
But the logic here is that baggy clothes have a greater chance of getting stuck into surrounding objects. This increases chances of injuries because you can catch fire from other hazardous things that are around you.
Therefore it comes down to picking an FR coverall for yourself that is a medium fit. The fit will neither be too tight that it wards off the insulation layer between your skin and the garment. The fit will not be too loose as well that it catches fire from the hazardous environment.
As a rule of thumb, clothes shrink after the first few washes. The same happen with FR clothing. So you must keep in mind that while purchasing FR coveralls for yourself, you should buy a size or two bigger than your actuals size. Gradually with a few washes, it will shrink to your actual size.
FR Coveralls Designed For Women
There are always certain variations that we can find for every garment to suit each sex. Similarly, some FR coverall manufacturers design coveralls to suit women, while some do not.
As a woman who is looking to buy FR clothing, you are most probably looking for designs that are suited well for the female body.
But there is one thing to note. The purpose of coveralls is to offer protection against the heat and flame hazards. The function provided by coveralls is the same whether it is designed for men or for women.
Therefore, having a coverall suited for your sex alone does not really make a difference. This may be the reason why that majority if manufacturers just come up with unisex or gender-neutral coveralls.
Details To Pay Attention To
Your employer will most definitely give out a certain set of instructions for the kind of FR coverall he wants you to purchase. For instance, they will let you know whether primary protection or secondary protection coverall is needed.
Employers also notify you with the specific garments that you need to buy in order to wear in your workplace.
There is another important thing to take care of is a suitable fit. This was discussed in the section earlier.
You don’t have to buy anything which too baggy that it gets stuck around in objects from your environment. You also shouldn’t select anything which is too tight that it strips off the extra layer of insulation.
Additionally, there is one thing that your employer might notify you about is where to buy your FR coveralls from. When it comes to manufacturers, each company has a different collection of materials and looks to pick from.
The quality of the material may also vary. Other factors like guarantees, price tags, and quality control processes should also be taken into consideration.
Primary And Secondary Protection – What’s The Difference?
When you come across the term flame-resistant clothing, you may often hear familiar terms like “primary protection” and “secondary protection.” What do we mean by these two terms? Is there any significant difference between the two? Do we have a greater degree of protection with either of them?
If we discuss the two types of protection, main difference between the two is all about the degree of protection it can offer in a specific field in which we intend to use it. We have described both categories below.
- Primary Protection
Primary protection points towards FR clothing that is made to benefit workers during duties that involve being exposed to flames and thermal outbreaks continuously. This can include potential molten splashes as well.
For instance, we can take a look at a firefighter’s clothing. Once the firefighter is out on duty, putting out fire, he is exposed to heat continuously.
- Secondary Protection
In FR clothing, we refer to secondary protection as a sort of safety protection that is given to the wearer for hazardous breaks.
These are hazards which the person might not be exposed to continuously. However, it can still include thermal exposure, molten splashes, sparks, fire flames, etc.
However, the key point to note still is that such wearers are not in a constant danger as that of primary protection.
Underclothing – An Important Aspect To Take Into Consideration
Flame-retardant clothing is designed in a way that it protects you from fire, thermal exposure, sparks and other similar hazardous conditions. But are there any potential measures that you can take to make the FR coveralls more effective? Moreover, there are some practices that can be taken into account that further enhance the effectiveness of FR coveralls.
Firstly, the clothing you opt for to be worn under your FR clothing tends to play a significant role in protection and effectiveness that your FR clothing can offer. Before wearing FR coveralls, always make sure that you wear garments underneath that have little to no tendency of melting.
Taking this precaution has two advantages. The first one is simple. If you pick the right type of under clothing, it only adds further to your FR protection. In case the first layer of your flame-resistant garment loses integrity during an injury, you still have another layer to keep you safe. There is also another layer of insulation between the two layers of clothing adding to the safety of workers.
Secondly, it is essential to wear underclothing with negligible melting capacity because of the harsh working environment you will be exposed to.
Once the outer layer of your protective garment is damaged, it is highly possible that it will start affecting your inner clothing too. If the conditions become extreme, your protective underclothing may cause severe damage by catching fire. This puts you at risk for serious injuries.
When workers are exposed to an environment where thermal, spark or electrical injuries are a real danger to their lives, then it becomes a necessity for them to wear flame-resistant clothing. You can read OSHA’s guidelines given above to have a clearer idea about who exactly should opt for FR coveralls.