A CB protective firefighter turnout suit.

This paper describes research that developed a prototype chemical and biological (CB) protective firefighter suit. It is presented as a case study demonstrating an integrated systems approach to designing, developing and evaluating a protective clothing ensemble based on end user requirements. It includes a discussion of the process that was used to gain an understanding of firefighter performance needs for a structural turnout suit that also incorporated chemical protection. It describes the design features of the turnout suit that were developed to meet these expectations as well as the program of testing and evaluation used to characterize garment performance. It discusses ensemble level performance evaluations in instrumented fire manikin tests and man-in-stimulant test procedures. It describes studies conducted to determine the impact of prototype garment design features on heat stress, wear comfort and ergonomic function in structural firefighting applications.