HOW DO FIREFIGHTERS PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM HEAT?

Firefighters need to wear clothing that is both fire retardant (slow to catch on fire) and offers good insulation (does not conduct heat easily). Fireproof clothing often has a shiny surface, because this helps to reflect the radiated heat away from the body.

It’s the outside of the suit that is bright and shiny.  That’s because things that are lighter in color and more reflective will reflect more energy away from them than they will absorb.  The inside of the suit is made of a fireproof type of material designed to further insulate the firefighter from experiencing the heat transfer from the fire he is trying to put out.  Fabrics that traditionally are poor conductors of heat have been used, like asbestos.  Asbestos fibers have also proven to be carcinogenic (cancer causing), so newer fabrics are constructed out of non-carcinogenic materials, such as newer fire retardant materials.  Firefighters that combat wildfires in the American mid-west have, as part of their safety equipment, a shiny, flame-retardant tent they take shelter in, if the fire reverses direction and overtake them.  They may cover up in these fireproof tents in an effort to preserve their lives.

Picture Credit : Google