SHIPBOARD DAMAGE CONTROL, PERSONNEL PROTECTION, FIREFIGHTING AND CBR-D
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Protective Clothing
 
Firefighting Suit, Asbestos
 
A significant improvement in firefighting personnel protection occurred with the development of the asbestos suit in the 1940s. Developed primarily to provide protection during main space fires, many firefighting control functions could not be conducted without the asbestos suit. It was designed for rapid hard work functions and involvement in firefighting where reflash was a great possibility. The asbestos suit consisted of a coat, trousers, gloves, boots and hood. The coat had a zippered opening that extended from the neck down to the waist; when closed it was covered by a 3-inch-wide flap, and each forearm had a zipper. The trousers also had a zipper on the outside seam. Gauntlet-type asbestos gloves were required for handling hot objects and expended OBA canisters, which were very hot when removed from OBAs. The Micarta helmet-form hood, attached to the suit at the back of the neck, protected the top of the head and lent support to the monocular-lens vision port. An overlapping “V” slot was provided in front of the hood apron, over the upper part of the chest, to allow for OBA breathing tubes. One person had to assist the firefighter in donning the asbestos suit. A complete set of clothing had to be worn under the suit. An OBA -- Type A, A-1, A-2, A-3, patrol type or oxygen cylinder type, depending on the period -- was worn over the suit. While the suit would not burn, it did conduct heat. It was designed for full body protection in high heat and flames exposure for short durations only, such as passing quickly through flames to conduct personnel rescue or to secure a valve fueling a fire source. It was the designated protection for ships’ firefighting personnel in major fire emergencies and conflagrations. Rotation of personnel was of prime consideration when wearing the hot, cumbersome and heavy suit. Caution had to be exercised during use; if too much water saturated the suit, there was a chance of scalding the wearer. If the suit got too wet due to steam development, the user had to return to a cool location. The hull allowance list for DC equipment provided one to two outfits, plus an equal quantity of extra hoods, and seven to ten pairs of asbestos gloves for each repair locker. One outfit and one to six pairs of gloves were provided in unit lockers. NOTE: The asbestos suit is not be confused with anti-flash clothing, which was not intended for use in firefighting. Anti-flash clothing provided protection from flashes such as bomb explosions.
Image of Firefighting Suit, Asbestos
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