Dupont Thermo Man Stand

Last year, DuPont Personal Protection was pleased to announce plans to work, once again, in conjunction with the UK’s largest fire and rescue service, London Fire Brigade, to provide 6,000 fire-fighters with new turn-out-gear (TOG), based on the trusted Nomex® and Kevlar® fibre from DuPont. The TOG, that is to be manufactured throughout 2009, form part of London’s 8 year contract with Bristol Uniforms to supply 6,000 fire-fighters across the Capital with new tunics, over-trousers, helmets, fire hoods, gloves and boots.

The new TOG made of Nomex® Outershell Ti-Technology, that will serve well into the next decade, was selected from a number of potential sets of TOG following a series of rigorous testing and evaluation, including trials by Brigade operational staff. Every element of the new TOG has been designed to integrate with each other and is fully compatible with all other equipment used by the Brigade such as breathing apparatus and chemical protection suits.

Commenting on the contract award, London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson, said, “The current kit has served the Brigade well but we have taken advantage of the latest technology from an evolving and competitive market to purchase a replacement that is safe, light and comfortable. The safety of our fire-fighters is of paramount importance and a new fire kit has been chosen that will meet the exacting standards demanded by the London Fire Brigade.”

As well as London Fire Brigade, fire-fighters from Nottingham and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Services are equipped with the distinctive red and grey uniforms collectively developed by Bristol Uniforms, Hainsworth and DuPont Personal Protection based on Nomex® and Kevlar® brand fibres.

Last year key personnel from seven of the UK’s fire and rescue services attended a seminar at DuPont’s headquarters in Geneva to find out more about the new garments,. Here, they witnessed a series of impressive comparative tests on the DuPont™ Thermo-Man® facility. The success of these tests and the positive response from several UK Fire Services to implement the new turn out gear has prompted DuPont to bring Thermo-Man® to the UK. Consequently, and as a mark of thanks, the DuPont™ Thermo-Man® will be visiting Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue HQ on the 20th – 23rd July to demonstrate the heat and flame performance of the new TOG now available. Seminars will be held over three days at the event in Nottingham that will focus on the effectiveness of the new TOG for emergency responders, as well as garments specially developed for industrial workers.

The DuPont™ Thermo-Man® is a six foot mannequin that, in controlled conditions, is engulfed in flames for a duration of typically eight seconds to test protective clothing. Emulating how a garment would perform in a real life flash over fire, the system not only provides a very visual test result, but it incorporates 122 thermal sensors that can scientifically predict the site and degree of potential burn injury that the wearer would suffer if wearing the clothing system under those conditions. The results are a very realistic display of the flame retardant properties of the protective garments that have been designed.

The Thermo Man® event, open to anyone from Fire Brigades across the country, is to be held on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd July 2009. A full programme of events and further information can be obtained by contacting Doris Sultan - E-mail: doris.sultan@che.dupont.com. Tel: +41 22 717 54 43.