P-24

Firefighters have to wear protective clothing to fulfill their duties. The protective clothing however creates a barrier for body heat and moisture transport to the environment, causing significant discomfort. 90-95% of the firefighter’s work consider defensive tasks, away from the direct fire. The work considers severe physical efforts for prolonged times, which is particularly challenging regarding the accumulation of body heat. Within the garment a warm and damp microclimate is created which may result in a rising core temperature, and consequent decrease of mental focus and significant impact on the physical state.

Together Teijin and Saxion developed a cooling vest at Teijin’s request. In the full development process, the user has played a central role. The poster shows the involvement of the user in this development process.

At the start of the process the user confirmed the need for a cooling vest for defensive purposes. Evaluation of different cooling methods on a thermal manikin confirmed the choice for an air-cooled system. After multiple prototype iterations, the cooling vest shows promising functionality through sweat absorption and moisture permeability. The electric fans pull in outside air for up to eight hours. The vest is lightweight and has a flexible fit. These unique features add high comfort to the body during extreme firefighting operations, which can contribute to a better flow of firefighting operations. The outer layer of the cooling vest is made with a heat-resistant, flame-retardant meta-aramid fiber [1, 2].

Concluding, the developed prototypes demonstrated the intended functionality, and led to positive feedback from the involved firefighters. The current developments will be followed up by field trials to learn in which scenario the cooling garment can be most effective for the prevention of heat stress.

1. Teijin, (2017), Teijin Develops Cooling Vest for Enhanced Firefighting Safety, https://www.teijin.com/news/2017/ebd171012_32.html, accessed December 22nd 2017

2. Teijin, (2017), Customer case: Beating the heat with Twaron!, https://www.teijinaramid.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/End-user-case-%E2%80%93-Joachim-Posanz-German-firefighter-.pdf, accessed December 22nd 201