Of all the items firefighters wear for structural firefighting, the most misunderstood is probably the gloves. Among the footwear, helmets and garments worn, gloves are considered a throwaway item of the protective gear, and oftentimes, they are given very little consideration when purchased.
During firefighting, hand protection is of major importance. Even though injuries and burns to the hand have lessened in the past few years, burn injuries are a large part of all firefighting injuries.
Protecting firefighters’ hands from burns and fire hazards is a challenge. To have the best protection of the hands, hand comfort and function is often reduced. Consequently, the challenge has focused the glove industry to become creative with their selection of glove materials and designs for glove. Feld Fire has the right type of gloves that firefighters need to protect their hands. Visit www.felfire.com to view the protective gloves available for firefighters.
Firefighting gloves use the same manner of layering materials as applied to firefighting garments. Gloves for structural firefighting have a three-layer construction. Gloves are surrounded by a shell made of leather or textile. A moisture barrier is inside the shell that is separate from the thermal lining. All these layers work closely together to protect the hands.
Another key for the best protection and comfort is the sizing of the glove. Gloves need to fit correctly to have the right level of insulation. This is because the air trapped inside the glove is a good insulator and conforms to the hand giving it better hand function.
The gloves used by firefighters should always conform to NFPA 1971. This is a standard that sets the specific requirements for firefighter gloves in terms of performance and design properties that define the levels of acceptable protection. Shop for your gloves at FeldFire.com.
