Join the discussion for a collective voice to educate on firefighter PPE.
Digital Sizing Project at Women in the Fire Service Event:
20th June 2025
Round Table 3 on Achieving Fit-for-Form PPE and PFAS-free Solutions:
10th July 2025, 2:00PM - 3:15PM
HELP TO GUIDE KEY STAKEHOLDERS WITH SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.
PARTICIPATING COMPANIES
INTERSCHUTZ 2026 – The
PCIAW® Delegation for
Fire & Rescue Services
Hannover, Germany
Monday 1 June – Friday 5 June 2026
4 nights | 3.5-day structured delegation programme
The world’s leading fire and rescue exhibition, bringing together global innovation, suppliers and best practice to strengthen firefighter safety and operational performance.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that firefighting as an occupation is carcinogenic. Protective clothing is the immediate line of defence.
Fire Chiefs must balance and prioritise the various requirements of protective clothing, from thermal and particulate protection to light weight mobility, whilst considering new elements from garment interface, female-fit PPE and chemistry applications.
2024 INTERACTIVE SUSTAINABLE SUMMARY
0
%
firefighter deaths related to heart stress and repetitive heat stress
0
%
more likely to develop throat cancer
0
%
increase in skin permeability for every 3-5 degree temperature rise
Improving Firefighter Safety
The PCIAW® Round Table Series on ‘Improving Firefighter Safety’ will bring procurement teams and the supply chain together to discuss the impact of new scientific research relating to FR textiles and PPE decontamination to provide unbiased and impartial information to the Fire & Rescue Services around the world.
Firefighter PPE is designed to protect against the hazards of the job, as they protect the public. PCIAW® is seeking to bring solutions to the market to improve the protection, comfort and inclusivity of the next generation of PPE and educate on best practices to ensure safety of firefighters as they manage inventories.
Firefighter PPE is designed to protect against the hazards of the job, as they protect the public. PCIAW® is seeking to bring solutions to the market to improve the protection, comfort and inclusivity of the next generation of PPE and educate on best practices to ensure safety of firefighters as they manage inventories.
ROUND TABLE TOPICS 2025
Round Table # 3 - What PCIAW® wants to know
- Fit and Inclusivity: There is a strong call to prioritize female-specific fits in firefighting PPE due to historic lack of access, with a broader push for inclusive fit-based design to address comfort and performance issues across all genders.
- Technical Fit Challenges: Key concerns include pattern grading for diverse body types, discrepancies in manufacturer sizing charts, and the need to address comfort and fit issues in turnout gear, gloves, helmets, and footwear.
- Digital Solutions: Body scanning and 3D avatar technology offer new opportunities to capture detailed anthropometric data, improving garment design for movement, body shape, and fabric performance.
- PPE Innovation Feedback: Insights from initiatives like Women in the Fire Service's digital sizing project are crucial in validating new design approaches and ensuring real-world applicability.
- PFAS-Free Development and Impacts: Manufacturers are navigating the transition to PFAS-free materials, weighing the effects on oil repellence, product durability, laundering needs, and developing alternative treatments and fabrics.
ROUND TABLE TOPICS 2024
Round Table # 1 - What PCIAW® wants to know
- Activities and gear - discuss the ratio of fires vs rescue and usage of structural, wildland, and rescue suits across different tasks.
- User needs - identify key needs for improved thermal performance, breathability, weight, comfort.
- Tender challenges - review difficulties evaluating solutions and managing inventory/demand.
- Maintenance and disposal - share current procedures for contamination avoidance, cleaning, storage, testing, and end-of-life management.
- Climate impacts - examine increased wildfires and effects on services and protective needs.
Round Table # 2 - What PCIAW® wants to know
- Knowledge gaps - identify gaps in fire service knowledge during procurement and tendering processes.
- Standards and protection levels - examine if current thermal protection standards are adequate based on scientific evidence.
- Contaminant risks - discuss carcinogen exposure threats and whether current components provide sufficient particle barrier performance.
- Contamination mechanisms - analysing how contamination occurs - absorption vs gaps at seams/interfaces.
- Innovations - share developments in modular design, functional materials, and decontamination technologies.
