Ensure employee safety during rescue operations by complying with the latest requirements in the 2013 NFPA 1951.

Exposure to hazards is a given in any rescue operation. Protect first responders with effective PPE that meets the latest requirements in NFPA 1951: Standard on Protective Ensembles for Technical Rescue Incidents. This important document establishes minimum protection for emergency services personnel assigned to or involved in search, rescue, treatment, recovery, decontamination, site stabilization, extrication, and similar operations at technical rescue incidents.

The Standard applies to the design, manufacturing, testing, and certification of three different types of technical rescue operations ensembles and ensemble elements:

• The Utility Technical Rescue Protective Ensemble provides protection for operational settings where physical and thermal hazards exist or are expected.
• The Rescue and Recovery Technical Rescue Protective Ensemble provides protection for operational settings where physical, thermal, liquid, and blood-borne pathogens hazards exist or are expected.
• The CBRN Technical Rescue Protective Ensemble provides protection for operational settings where physical, thermal, liquid, blood-borne pathogens, and CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) agents in liquid-splash and particulate forms hazards exist or are expected

Among key changes in the 2013 edition that improve safety for fire and emergency medical services personnel are:

• References to new ASTM test methods
• New definitions, including decontamination, gusset, rescue and search
• Changes to product label requirements in Chapter 5
• Revised performance requirements for fastener tapes, glove body composites, and CBRN protective ensembles in Chapter 7
• Revised test methods for wet conditioning and washing and drying of whole garments, gloves and CBRN materials, and helmet positioning.
• Revised test methods in Chapter 8 for the Man-in-Simulant (MIST) test and the chemical permeation resistance test, along with a new torque test

Work with the updated requirements in the 2013 NFPA 1951 to make sure first responders have the right protection gear for the job.