Flame-resistant (FR) clothing has come a long way from its origins in the lab of French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, who first discovered that ammonium phosphates and borax were capable of making textiles relatively flame retardant in 1821.
In the early 1970s, employers in the petroleum refining and chemical processing industries started adopting FR clothing programs to help prevent injuries caused by flash fire — an intense and rapidly spreading fire caused by the combination of air and a flammable substance. These companies found that when regular cotton or polyester work clothes ignited, the amount and severity of burn injuries were substantially higher, which greatly reduced workers' chances of survival. By utilizing FR fibers and fabrics in employees' workwear, employers could greatly reduce the severity and amount of burn injuries, and improve their workers' likelihood of survival.
Since these early days, FR clothing development, research and production have continued to improve, making FR fabric a staple for employers in a variety of industries, such as oil and gas, electrical utilities, fire service, and laboratories. Today's FR garments can protect against a variety of hazards — including flash fire, arc flash and molten-metal splatter — by offering ignition prevention or self-extinguishing properties that help prevent continual burning and grant workers potentially lifesaving escape time when exposed to such hazards.
FR fabrics have not only improved in terms of their protection properties, but after 40 years of progress, they are also far more fashionable and significantly more comfortable for workers to wear. With choices ranging from vibrant royal blues, oranges and reds to timeless navy, khaki and denim, the days of FR clothing only being available in a generic, one-color coverall are long gone. The fabrics have also evolved due to companies, like DuPont, Westex and Milliken, engineering new materials that are lighter, sweat wicking and more breathable, while still offering a quality level of FR protection. Additionally, there are now a vast number of clothing styles to choose from, including dress shirts, cargo pants, knit henleys, outerwear and denim jeans. Name brands, such as Dickies and Walls, have now brought their popular aesthetics to the FR market, as well.
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