Clothing air gaps in various postures in firefighters’ work

Both the physical properties of the fabric materials used in clothing and the effective design of the clothing, primarily in terms of the air gap thickness, restrict the transmission of the thermal energy from the heat source to the firefighter's body. The air gap distribution over the body in real deployment conditions of firefighters will vary, and is likely to be different from the air gap distribution in standardised manikin tests in standing upright posture. In this study, we investigated differences in the distribution of air layers in firefighters' clothing in three postures reflecting realistic on-duty exposure conditions (crawling, hose-holding, and standing upright used in laboratory tests) using 3D body scanning technology. The body posture induced substantial changes in the air gap thickness on the upper body (chest and back) and lower body. These changes were reflected in both the thermal and evaporative resistance of the ensemble, and consequently, in their potential thermal performance in the field. Therefore, it is recommended to consider body postures during the evaluation of clothing protective performance. Secondly, the knowledge of local clothing properties in real-life exposure provides a true protection mapping and gives design inputs to improve the local protective properties of firefighters' clothing.