| Although the protective clothing and equipment worn by a fire fighter provides protection from various hazards, it can be physiologically stressful to the wearer because of its weight, stiffness, and impermeable nature. Additionally, fire protective clothing systems should be relatively acceptable to the wearer. As a prerequisite for development of new fire fighting clothing systems, it is necessary to provide physiological and subjective data for presently available clothing systems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physiological costs associated with wearing different designs and/or fabric combinations of structural fire protective clothing. This research additionally quantified fire fighters' subjective evaluations regarding the acceptability of the clothing systems tested, and a major contribution of this research was to develop a semantic differential scale for determining wearers' acceptance of the clothing systems.;Results indicated that use of a self-contained breathing apparatus was more important than design or moisture barrier fabrication in determining the physiological costs of wearing the protective clothing system. Responses on the Wearer Acceptability Scale were subjected to a factor analysis technique, and three factors (freedom of movement, clothing acceptance, and stress) were identified.;The research design for this study was a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial, with three independent variables: (1) three designs of fire protective clothing, (i.e., traditional, bibbed pants, and tailed coat), (2) two moisture barrier fabrications (Goretex('(REGTM)) and Neoprene('(REGTM))), and (3) use (or non-use) of a self-contained breathing apparatus. Resistance to dry and evaporative heat transfer for the clothing ensembles was determined using a thermal manikin. The dependent variables for the study were: (1) physiological responses of subjects wearing the protective clothing systems and (2) fire fighters' subjective evaluations of acceptability and thermal comfort of the clothing systems. For human subject tests, nine professionally trained fire fighters completed an exercise/rest protocol (under controlled environmental conditions) in each protective clothing/equipment ensemble, providing a total of 108 observations. During the exercise/rest protocol, each subject performed an exercise routine designed to simulate the physical activity associated with fire fighting, i.e., walking, ladder climbing, crawling, and chopping. Physiological responses, i.e., added energy expenditure, increase in rectal temperature and heart rate, and weight loss were measured. At the end of each exercise/rest testing period, the subjects completed a Thermal Sensation Ballot and Wearer Acceptability Scale. |
