Developed with firefighters, for firefighters, France’s trusted protection against radiant heat is now available to a global market.
The forest fire is raging. Separated from the truck and teammates, the firefighter is in extreme danger. Even though the flames are metres away, the radiant heat alone is enough to kill. The firefighter knows a gap in the wall of flame is likely to appear. They just need sufficient protection to buy them time to see it and exploit it.
It is for these circumstances that Otego, the world leader in coated and laminated technical textiles, has announced the global launch of its Fireshield Poncho.
Developed with firefighters, for firefighters
Although Otego developed and manufactures the material from which the Fireshield Poncho is made – an extremely lightweight fibreglass coated in aluminized aramid incorporating Otego Fireshield technology – it was French firefighters who first suggested this new application.
“When a firefighter goes into the forest they will usually stay close to their fire truck,” explains Alain Tieu, Heat Protection Market Manager at Otego. “But fire is unpredictable, and sometimes firefighters can become separated and surrounded. The firefighters realised they needed an additional piece of PPE (personal protective equipment) of last resort. In environments of high radiant heat, this poncho could help them stay alive until rescue arrives, or give them the protection needed to run to safety should gaps in the wall of flame appear.”
“Radiant heat is usually the first kind of heat a firefighter will feel and one of the most dangerous,” says Grégoire Bernand, Fireguard Product Manager at Otego. “The Fireshield Poncho’s aluminized layer is ranked C4, the most reflective material there is, and provides additional protection beyond the firefighter’s protective suit, buying them vital additional time.”
As lightweight and easy to carry as a rain poncho, the Fireshield Poncho clips onto belts and has been trusted by French firefighters for years.
Laboratory tested
To take the Fireshield Poncho global, Otego subjected it to a series of demanding laboratory tests. The tests saw thermal sensors placed on two mannequins wearing standard firefighting gear, one with and one without the additional protection of the poncho. The effect of radiant heat and flame was then measured.
“The temperature rises very quickly in a forest fire situation,” says Alain. “80°C is the threshold for significant injury – that’s the temperature we must not exceed – so we tested the effect of the Fireshield Poncho when modifying the intensity of radiant heat.
“Five kilowatts per square meter gave the unprotected mannequin just 225 seconds before the temperature reached critical levels. With the poncho, we doubled the temperature to 10 kilowatts per meter and monitored the mannequin for more than double the time (500 seconds) yet the temperature within the poncho didn’t exceed 30°C. We increased the radiant heat further, to 30kW, then 50kW. At no point did the temperature reach 70°C.
“When we placed the Fireshield Poncho in bushfire conditions, amid burning vegetation, there was still no damage to the mannequin.”
Global application
Although not designed for prolonged exposure to direct flame, the Fireshield Poncho has a proven capability to protect the wearer from intense radiant heat while maintaining mobility, a crucial difference between it and the ‘fire shelter’ approach adopted by some US firefighting teams, which forces users to remain static and wait for fire to pass.
In China, the Fireshield Poncho has been used in other scenarios.
“For any fire crew battling a gasoline or chemical plant fire, the people closest to the fire will wear full proximity suits,” says Alain. “For the rest of the crew, however, a full proximity suit will often be over-spec for a support role. Chinese firefighters have been using the poncho to protect crews from radiant heat without having to go to the expense of buying full proximity suits. Three cities in China are now using it to protect support teams too.”
It seems the product developed by firefighters continues to have firefighters around the world discovering new applications for it.
For more information, or to buy the Fireshield Poncho direct from Otego, please contact INFO@OTEGOTEXTILE.COM
