Protecting fire fighters exposed in room fires, part 2: Performance of turnout coat materials under actual fire conditions

Seven experimental fires varying in fire load were conducted in a simulated townhouse. Specimens of various current fire fighters turnout coat materials were exposed in the room of fire origin. The time at which conditions would become untenable for the fire fighter due to pain, as well as the time to second degree burn, were calculated. These times ranked the coat specimens in roughly the same order as the “Thermal Protection Performance” measured according to NFPA 1971–1986, especially if the heat in the room developed rapidly.