Tupelo Fire Equipment is more than a company that just "wants to make money" from Emergency Services, we want to make sure you are as informed as possible. We want to help you make the best decisions for the needs of your staff. This page is solely for information purposes and it not intended to "sell" one product or brand over the other. Please see below for some of our more commonly asked questions on equipment.

TURNOUTS

There's so many different materials on the market today. What is best for my Fire Department? I want the best, but I don't want to overspend.

There are three different components to turnout gear, the outer shell, the thermal liner, and the moisture barrier. We'll discuss the OUTER SHELL first. The outer shell's first and only job is to keep the fire away from your body. Flame resistance and durability should be your primary concern when looking at outer shells. Basically, the more flame resistant an outer shell, the most cost is involved, although manufacturer's have heard your voice and are starting to create materials with outstanding flame resistance and excellent durability as well.

NOMEX® - Degradation Point: 700 Degrees - Nomex has been around for ages and continues to be an integral part of the fire service. Nomex® has good fire resistance, is very durable, and is extremely cost effective. However, we are seeing a trend in Nomex® that is leaning toward the "surround and drown" departments. Fire Departments that are training for interior attack seem to shy away from Nomex® and purchase gear with more flame resistance. Nomex® should also be considered if a fire department handles a large proportion of wrecks or rescues rather than fires. At this point, flame resistance would be second to durability.

FUSION - Degradation Point: slightly less than 1050 degrees - 50% Kevlar/50% Nomex - Fusion is most similar to Advance only with slightly less Kevlar. While this material is still some of the most durable on the market, it is not as durable as Advance material. Please see the Advance discussion below for qualities.

ADVANCE - Degradation Point: 1050 Degrees - 60% Kevlar/40% Nomex® - Advance seems to have taken the place of Nomex® in certain areas. The flame resistance of this material far exceeds that of Nomex®, and the durability seems to be better for most purposes. The cost is slightly higher, but minimal in terms of protection. Advance seems to be the best "all around" gear for most volunteer departments that never know what to expect when arriving on the scene. If the Fire Department is mostly split-down-the-middle on wrecks, rescues and fires, but still wants to watch their pennies, this may be a good outer shell for them.

BASOFIL - Degradation Point: 1000 Degrees - 60% Kevlar/40% Basofil - Basofil has become a staple in the larger fire departments. The flame resistance is very high and the material is very durable (although not quite as durable as Advance). The exceptional heat blocking characteristics of Basofil make it possible to wear lighter thermal liners and still maintain a reasonable TPP. Pricing is a small bit higher than Advance, but the flame resistance may well be worth the money.

PBO (MILLENIA) - Degradation Point: 1300 Degrees - PBO is the newest of the premium outer shells, having only been on the market since early 2000. The flame resistance performs much like PBI or better, and the durability is superior. Some of its features would include: lower water absorption tendencies, higher tear strength, and better anti-char resistance. There is a minimal price increase from Basofil to PBO. The only problem that might be forseen is a tighter weave of the material, thereby inhibiting breathablity especially in the hot and humid southern states. However, this is clearly speculation and not a fact. Tupelo Fire Equipment would feel safer after our own tests are run and they show this concern not be be grounded.

ADVANCE ULTRA - Degradation Point: 1200 Degrees - 60% Kevlar/20% Nomex®/20% PBO - Tupelo Fire Equipment feels this is the best of the mid-grade outer shells due to enhanced flame resistance (PBO), superior durability (Kevlar), and fluidity of movement (Nomex®). Due to a minimal price increase from Advance, Basofil or PBO to Advance Ultra, this would make an excellent upgrade from Advance or Basofil to Advance Ultra.

PBI MATRIX - Degradation Point: 1200 Degrees - PBI Matrix is one of the newer shells on the market today. It is only a very few years old, but has seemed to have proven itself time and again. PBI Matrix has the flame resistance of PBI (that is to say, excellent) with Kevlar cables running throughout and weaved into the material. This makes for an very durable product. As with all outer shells, the price is slightly higher due to the better flame resistance. Many larger Fire Departments are slowly phasing from Basofil to PBI Matrix. A side note to pass along would be that there is still some UV sensitivity due to the amount of undyed PBI in the product, thus lessening the durability.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL dyes in ALL dyed fabrics begin to break down at around 450 degrees. Some strength loss occurs prior to the degradation point due to this.

The THERMAL LINER is the interior liner of the turnouts. It's only purpose is to "wick" away moisture from your body, be that water or sweat. Without the thermal liner in turnout gear, there would be a very real possibility of steam burns or heat exhaustion. Thermal liners are "graded" on breathability and weight; hence, the lower the weight, the less insulation, but the high the breathability.

NOMEX®/BATT HEAVY - This is the heaviest of the liners. It has the most insulation and the least breathability. It is also one of the most economical liner choices. This liner may not meet all tests required to continue to produce it for the fire service.

PFR COTTON/BASOFIL BLEND BATT - This is an extremely economical liner but is one of the heaviest liners. This liner has proven extremely durable in previous years. It's downside may be as with all cotton products, care must be given to drying before storage. This may prove to be a problem with busier Fire Departments.

META ARAMID/SPUNLACE - This liner is basically a Nomex®-type material. It is one of the lightest liners. consisting of a single layer of spunlace. However, it is so low in insulation, Spunlace may not be advisable with many outer shells. Pricing would be considered slightly higher than Basofil blend.

NOMEX/BATT LIGHT (ARALITE) - This lighter liner is designed to provide a compromise between the relatively high bulk and insulation of Batt Heavy Liner products and the relatively lower bulk and insulation of the newer materials, such as Spunlace. There are several types of Batt Light, but the most popular would be the Chambray and the Nomex®. Many customers feel that the Chambray facecloth is more comfortable than the Nomex®, due to the stiffness of the Nomex® that some customers feel.

NOMEX® E89 - This liner appears to be the liner of choice for Metro Departments. It is a lighter weight liner, wicks moisture well and dries quickly. It is low bulk so movement is not as restricted. However, it seems to be one of the higher priced liners, so again, Fire Departments that have a majority of wrecks and rescues may want to consider another lining system.

NOMEX® ONE LAYER LINER - This liner is designed for minimal bulk which gives it excellent flexability. The THL and TPP are extremely high for this type of liner. This is also a liner that is in the higher price range, although not as expensive as the Semi Slick type.

NOMEX® SEMI SLICK - This Caldura liner attempts to balance a blend of slick or filament yarns with woven yarns, creating easy movement and impressive moisture pickup. This liner has no foam type material incorporated into it, so there are not problems with breakdown or gas explusion. This, again, is one of the higher priced liners.

The third layer in turnouts is the MOISTURE BARRIER. It is comparable to a breathable rain coat. It's purpose is to keep as much water and foam away from your body while still letting your body breathe. Moisture barriers are chosen for their breathability and their durability.

RT7100 - This moisture barrier is the most economical barrier while still being thermally stable. This moisture barrier was specifically designed to meet the demands and cost considerations of many in the fire service. It's thermal stability and non-cracking, non-flaking performance is unmatched in it's price range.

AQUATECH - Aquatech is a moisture barrier with a similar weight and appearance to the other moisture barrier, but unlike RT7100 and Crosstech, Aquatech is a polyurethane based barrier. The melting point of Aquatech is not as high as the PTFE based barriers (above) but this is still a good alternative when cost is an issue. For smaller fire departments that do not have the capability of interior attack, Aquatech is an excellent choice.

BREATHE-TEX - Breathe-tex is also a polyurethane based moisture barrier. As such, it also is similar in weight and appearance to the PTFE based barriers, but the melting point is, again, lower. Breathe-tex is attractively priced and a good choice for "surround and drown" tactics or firefighters who are not listed as first attack.

STEDAIR 2000 and 3000- Stedair is a PTFE based product, meaning the melting point of this barrier is very high. It is Nomex® laminated to a PTFE membrane, thus giving the moisture barrier a high durability content.

STEDAIR 4000 - This moisture barrier is the same as both the 2000 and 3000 series, but also has carbon fibers woven into the material for more fire protection than other moisture barriers. While it is not the main job of the moisture barrier to protect from fire, as this is the layer closest to the outer shell, it certainly can only help.

CROSSTECH - This moisture barrier is by far the most breathable and most durable moisture barrier product on the market today. While slightly more expensive than alternative moisture barriers, Crosstech offers compellingly better properties and, with it's comparatively better durability, is almost assuredly a lower life cycle cost product that products of lower initial cost (but with less durability).

Explain THL and TPP to me. Why should I care about these numbers?

TPP and THL tests are simply two of the many, many tests that finished turnouts must go though in order to be NFPA Approved, thus approved for your safety. The THL test is part of the Comfort and Function Tests and the TPP test is part of the Thermal Insulation Tests which are part of a series of daunting and expensive tests.

THL (Total Heat Loss) - This test is used to measure how well heat escapes from the turnouts, thus away from your body. This test assesses the loss of heat both by the evaporation of sweat and the conduction of head through the garment layers. As far as structural gear is concerned, a minimum total heat loss requirement of 130 watts per square meter was set. With the upcoming NFPA 2007 changes, that number has been increased to 205 watts per square meter. This is the reason Fire Department's cannot just pick a combination of outer shell, thermal liner and moisture barrier at random. These three components must have been tested together and passed the 130 (205 after 2007) watts THL test.

TPP (Thermal Protective Performance) - This test will show how well the turnout gear with protect you from the heat of the fire itself. The minimum required rating in this test for structural gear is 35. This number is discovered by time-to-burn multiplied by exposure energy (2.0 calories per square centimeters per second). Again, due to this minimum requirement, Fire Departments must carefully choose their three components to make sure the combination will meet or exceed this number. Most manufacturers have already done this for the Fire Departments, however, any Vendor should be happy to help you with your selection if needed.

Why do my turnouts fade or turn red? Will this hurt the material and make them unsafe?

In a nutshell, possibly. What you are seeing is the same premise as washing a black shirt in hot water and the color has faded when you take it out. Most outer shells have been dyed. When your turnouts face the heat of the fire, that color will sometimes fade to a lighter version or even to a red depending on what color they were when they started. Again, black is the worst color to do this. Any dyes on any outer shell material helps the durablilty of the garment. ALL dyes in ANY dyed fabrics starts to erode at 450 degrees meaning some strength is lost prior to the degradation point stated in the outer shell discussion above. That being said, bronze colored PBI and PBI products are the most easily damaged by this because there is no dye in the material. This means that their durability properties start out at a disadvantage to dyed garments. Please see the Outer Shell discussion above for maximum degrees each material has been tested and approved for. If your gear fades or turns red, this is a good indication that you were in a fire hotter than the recommended allowable heat. This is not really a warranty issue, after all, if the firefighter was in fire too hot for the gear, and he was able to walk off the scene, the outer shell has performed it's duty.

What is the best way to clean my turnouts?

Turnouts can be easily cleaned by simply separating the outer shell from the thermal liner/moisture barrier and washing them in an everyday large capacity washing machine. Most laundrymats have these, if the firefighter doesn't have one at home. Be sure to only use liquid detergent (Tide, Gain, Cheer, etc.) as the powdered type may settle into the materials and not dissolve properly. Not only will this cause a breathability issue, but washing powders are not fire resistant and may affect the flame resistance of the garment. Machine drying is not recommended as the hooks, dees or any other metal object may harm the inside of the dryer. Hanging the gear properly and letting it air dry is best. This should be done on a very regular basis. Be very careful about hanging your gear in the sun to let it dry as ultraviolet light can possibly erode PBI material.