In the past few years, there has been an increased awareness and concern regarding cancer in the fire service. In response to this concern, protective equipment manufacturers have begun developing gear that is intended to provide protection from smoke and soot particles found in structural fires that are known to contain carcinogenic materials. One piece of equipment that manufacturers and standard committees have focused on is the protective hood. Currently, there are a number of new protective hoods available that incorporate particulate blocking layers intended to help protect the face, head, and neck from deposition of soot, and the NFPA 1971 standard has recently been updated to include new requirements for the performance of these hoods.
North Carolina State University’s Textile Protection and Comfort Center (T-PACC) has received funding from FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighter Grants Program to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the effect of that these particulate blocking materials have on the other performance attributes of firefighter protective hoods.
A main goal of this project is to collect data and information about the use of protective hoods that can be provided to the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) technical committee on structural turnout gear. To achieve this goal, we have prepared an online survey focused on the use of protective hoods in the fire service, and are seeking experienced firefighters that would be willing to provide their input to help guide the research.
This survey is completely voluntary and anonymous, and it is open to any and all firefighters; (both male or female and career or volunteer).
If you are interested in providing input on your experience and thoughts about protective hoods, please follow the link below to access the online survey.
LINK: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCSUProtectiveHoodSurvey
If you would like more information or if you have any questions about the survey, feel free to contact Dr. Bryan Ormond ([email protected]) at NC State University’s Textile Protection and Comfort Center.