Characteristics of fire retardant clothing

Fire retardant clothing is regulated by the EN ISO 14116 standard which specifies precise characteristics that can be divided into three categories according to the tests to which the fabrics are subjected:

• Category 1 : the flame must not spread, must not generate flammable residues and must not leave residual incandescence.
• Category 2 : in addition to the characteristics of category 1, the fabric must not have any holes.
• Category 3 : in addition to the characteristics described for Category 2, the fabric must not be altered during at least the first two seconds of exposure to the flame.

Flame retardant treatments of fabrics

The types of fabrics used for fire resistant workwear are inherently flame retardant cotton and flame retardant cotton.

Inherently flame retardant fabric

The inherently fire retardant fabric does not undergo any type of treatment, because, as its name indicates, the fire retardant properties are conferred by the structure (polymer) that composes it. In this case, they are heat-resistant synthetic textile fibers, which have the particularity of maintaining fire-retardant properties even after washing or any change in the garment.

Flame retardant cotton

In the case of flame retardant cotton, the fabric is treated with chemicals to give it flame retardant properties. The flame retardant product is generally applied by immersing the garment in the chemical substance (products based on aluminum, magnesium, boron, red phosphorus, nitrogen). This treatment interrupts the combustion cycle, reducing the rate of heat transfer to the polymer.

Garments made with fire retardant cotton, which are treated at a later stage and therefore do not have fire retardant fibers, have a lower resistance to washing, an aspect that must be considered in relation to the type of use of the garment.

As for washing, it is recommended not to use temperatures above 60 ° C and to prefer neutral pH detergents.

Customization of flame retardant garments

All fire retardant clothing is customizable. If requested, we proceed to personalization using the printing or embroidery technique.

In our catalog of protective clothing You can find a wide range of fire retardant items: neck warmers, caps with visors, hats, belts, inner trousers, round neck T-shirt …