Fire hood retains fire protective qualities after wear and washing: the effect of wear and washing on the protection afforded by the new Royal Navy fire fighters' protective hood

Royal Navy (RN) fire fighters have recently been provided with a new two-ply hood made from 20 per cent polybenzimidizole/80 per cent permanent flame retardant Rayon (fibre made from regenerated cellulose). After 15-20 days of use during live-fire training (and regular washing) the new type hood appeared to be suffering from excessive wear and there was concern that the level of protection might have decreased. To examine this, 25 new and 25 used hoods (worn and washed approximately 15-20 times) were exposed to flame, five each at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10?s using a flame manikin head to ascertain the predicted burn injuries. The new hood was shown to provide excellent protection against the most severe flame engulfment to which RN personnel might accidentally be exposed. There was no evidence that the protection afforded by the hoods was reduced by prolonged use and washing and therefore it was safe for the “new-type” hood to remain in-service.