Flame retardant protective clothing the buying guide

Fire-resistant work clothing for men and women

Wearing PPE such as fireproof clothing are mandatory for some professions. Any individual who works and evolves in direct contact with flames, strong heat or possible explosions must wear fireproof clothing. Just like other personal protective equipment, flame retardant clothing serves the same purpose: to protect employees against the various risks and dangers that can occur in the workplace. On our Oxwork online store, each worker will find fireproof clothing that meets their requirements and expectations.

The advantage of going through Oxwork? Many models are suitable for indoor and outdoor work. To carry out your job in a comfortable way, the clothes we offer are available in different sizes that adapt perfectly to the morphology of each worker. But, before embarking on the acquisition of equipment adapted to your job, many criteria must be taken into consideration to avoid unpleasant surprises. Oxwork guides its customers in their purchase.

Adapted and standardized fireproof clothing

It is imperative to choose the equipment best suited to your working conditions by assessing the risks involved in order to define the essential characteristics you are looking for. The second criterion to take into account is the flame and heat protection fabric. It must, during the useful life of the garment in question, guarantee the necessary protection. The last criterion concerns the resistance of the clothing to the washing of flammable contaminants.

It is imperative that your outfit meets the standards in force. EN ISO 11611, EN ISO 11612. The standards are established according to the nature of the garment in question. The standards for protective flame resistant clothing are established to protect workers as much as possible against the risks of their job. The ISO 11612 and ISO 11611 standards are specific to the protection of people exposed to heat and flames, sparks. Have you ever wondered to what extent these standards protect you?

Standards:

• EN ISO 11611:
  A standard that protects against heat, sparks and contact with flames. There are two classes of protection, depending on the intensity and duration of exposure to radiant heat, the function of clothing conditions varies between the two classes:
  - class 1: applies to the protection against less hazardous welding techniques and situations, including the risk of sparks and radiant heat.
  - class 2: concerns the protection of the user in more dangerous situations.
  These essential safety requirements are applicable to protective clothing which must be worn during welding and welding operations. other technical processes presenting comparable risks.
• EN ISO 11612:
  To obtain this standard, PPE must pass at least two tests, a test certified by the mark A is mandatory, then the manufacturer must ensure at least one of the remaining tests (B, C, D, E or F).
  During the test, the performance of the materials making up the protective clothing is tested on flame diffusion (test A), heat tolerance convective (test B), tolerance to radiant heat (test C), molten metal (test D and E) as well as contact heat (test F).
  Each test is classified according to levels of performance. For example, the performance level indicates that the workwear material provides the minimum protection to pass the test. If you are responsible for your company's PPE, it is advisable to check not only if a fabric has passed the test, but also in what condition.
  It is important to understand the different levels of performance, as they relate to the magnitude of the risk. For example, the three performance levels of the E test tell you about protection from different amounts of molten metal splash. E1 represents a splash of molten metal weighing 60 to 120 g and E3 represents molten metal greater than 200 g. Depending on the risk levels of your work environment, you need to choose the appropriate level of performance.
  The level of protection for your workers is not only determined by the ISO 11612 standard. There are many elements that can affect the security level.

Adapted clothing (overalls, jacket, pants)

Your work environment may cause you to encounter other risks, so it is suggested that you add other standardized equipment to ensure your safety: clothing, safety footwear, covered by other standards in addition and having flame retardant properties. To ensure optimal protection, it should be noted that flame-resistant clothing is designed with very few pockets, thus preventing sparks from igniting quickly.

Flame-resistant underwear

We don't think about it often enough, but there are underwear adapted to certain specific activity sectors. The role of fireproof underwear is to protect its wearer to avoid more or less serious accidents. In this specific case, it will be a question of protecting it from burns or excessive heat which could endanger its safety or health. They must of course be worn under a suit or other fireproof outfit since they only serve as last ramparts and not as main protection. These underwear also provide optimal comfort. In fact, in addition to protecting against fire or heat, they are breathable and quickly wick away moisture.

The standards governing these underwear differ depending on the sector in which they are used. The equipment of an "ordinary" worker is governed by the classic PPE standards.

In the case of firefighters, it is the EN ISO 11612-2015 standard (formerly EN 531) based on current European regulations relating to fire resistance. If the old standard (EN 531) has been updated with much more complete characteristics, the underwear marketed with this standard is still valid and can still be purchased.

As for the hood, it will be designed with the EN 532 standard. The socks must be EN 533 standard.

On the other hand, those worn by racing drivers must have special approval from the FIA ??or F�d�ration Internationale de l'Automobile, the only entity that can grant it. The standard for these underwear is the FIA ??8856-2000 standard.

To complete your outfit, other workwear are required: as well as PPE: headphones, or safety shoes, safety trainers.