Two Derbyshire fire-fighters wearing Hainsworth® TITAN kit were engulfed in a fireball after an explosion thought to have been caused by an aerosol – one was blown to the floor and covered by a bedroom door in the blast.
Both fire-fighters praised the protection offered by their kit and, although they felt warm when fully engulfed by flame, neither suffered any injuries bar some minor blistering to the face and to the hip of the fire-fighter blown to the floor, where his coat had lifted to expose the top of his trousers.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Services Group Manager, Alex Johnson, who carried out the accident investigation said, “The firefighters involved were very complimentary about the level of protection their fire kit provided. This incident had the potential for a more serious outcome and the firefighters feel that their new fire kit prevented more serious injuries being sustained”.
Derbyshire selected their kit to offer the best in terms of personal protection and the outcome of this incident supports that decision. It makes us proud at Hainsworth to receive feedback like this, as we are confident Derbyshire’s choice of PPE through Bristol Uniforms was the right technical decision to procure the best combination of comfort, heat stress management and thermal protection currently available on the market. It also backs up the fact that the development and testing regime that we put our products through, genuinely mimics what is happening in reality.