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As the fire industry learns more about fireground exposure, the importance of maintaining clean gear is being emphasized even more. The industry is now recommending that you wash your hood after every call to minimize exposure to fireground particulates, and this frequent washing can affect a hood’s life.
When choosing the right hood, you need to consider durability after wash cycles based on your specific needs. For example, if you are dealing with structural fires weekly, you are going to wash your hood more frequently than if you respond to a fire every three months on average. Also, when you factor in the price point of a particulate hood versus a traditional hood, you want your new hood to last as long as possible.
Particulate-blocking durability
As part of certification, the 2018 edition of the NFPA 1971 Standard requires preconditioning of 20 launderings and two convective heat cycles prior to the particulate-blocking testing. With the strong focus on cleaning your gear, you most likely need to wash your particulate hood more than 20 times, and you should expect your investment in increased protection to last longer.
W. L. Gore & Associates decided to go beyond the standard. After washing GORE® Particulate Hoods 100 times at a verified ISP and repeating the particulate-blocking test, the hoods maintained their 99.9 percent efficiency, well above the standard’s requirement of 90 percent. When selecting your hood, ask the manufacturers about testing beyond the standard for their particulate-blocking hoods.
System-level durability
Evaluating the entire hood’s performance at a system level (i.e., in combination with your complete turnout ensemble) is just as important as certifying the materials’ ability to block particulates. Knowing that the hood will provide protection during use is crucial.
By now, you may have seen some of the Fluorescent Aerosol Screening Test (FAST) images that show a hood’s ability to provide protection while being worn. Not all manufacturers are doing this test. It is expensive and labor-intensive, requiring firefighters to serve as test subjects in fully donned gear performing prescribed tasks at an independent facility. However, it is important because donning the hood correctly, wearing it as part of an ensemble, and how it interfaces with other components can affect the hood’s particulate-blocking performance.
Gore used the FAST test to verify the system-level performance and durability of the GORE® Particulate Hood when new and after being washed 100 times at a verified ISP. The results showed virtually no fluorescence for either the new hoods or the hoods that had been washed 100 times, indicating no visible evidence of particulates on the subject’s skin.
FAST testing is not part of the Standard’s requirement for particulate-blocking hoods, so you should ask your manufacturer for their FAST test results before and after wash cycles.
Visual inspection
One very important factor that cannot be underestimated when evaluating gear’s durability is visual inspection. Checking the hood for cuts, holes and tears is essential in ensuring the maximum protection from the hood. Some manufacturers have included an inspection opening in the hood that enable you to turn the hood inside out so you can easily inspect the particulate blocking layer.
The GORE® Particulate Hood has an inspection opening that allows you to invert the hood completely to inspect the particulate-blocking layer, which is throughout the entire hood. Be sure to check with your manufacturer about an inspection opening.
Durability for long life of your hood
When you are considering your purchase for a particulate hood, be sure to evaluate the durability of each product. All certified particulate-blocking hoods are not the same, and the investment you are making is now more significant. So it is important to evaluate your needs and how frequently you anticipate washing your hood. Then ask all of the manufacturers for data about durability testing on their hoods. For more information about the GORE® Particulate Hood, visit GoreHoods.com.
