NFPA Journal - Spring 2023 - 42

As part of their
research, McQuerry
and Kwon photographed
and
measured female
firefighters in their
ill-fitting protective
clothing (right).
Facing page, data
from body scans was
used to visually plot
the differences in
body shape and proportions
between a
male (upper figures)
and female (lower
figures) wearing
both thin base layers
and a thick turnout
suit. The schematic
" identifies the need
for garments that are
designed with proportionate
patterns
to fit different body
types based on sex, "
McQuerry said.
SURVEY SAYS
" I hate my collar. I get it's supposed to
protect my neck, but it covers my whole
face since I have a smaller head. With
everything else that's already there-
my helmet and the SCBA-it's a lot of
stuff that impedes my vision. You just
can't fold it down because it's so stiff.
It overtakes everything and it's very
uncomfortable. " -STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTER
of female firefighter-specific anthropometrics that
exists, " McQuerry said.
Processing and analyzing the data continues, but
already important insights have emerged, including
major issues with the sizing requirements in NFPA
1977, the standard for wildland protective clothing.
" In general, what we are finding is that between
25 percent and 90 percent of our participants are
not falling anywhere in the size ranges included in
NFPA 1977, and many are falling far below, meaning
that the garments are oversized, even if they
are wearing an extra small, " McQuerry said. The
biggest problem areas for wildland garments were
sleeve length, inseam, and chest circumference.
Researchers also uncovered potential issues with
sizing charts in NFPA 1971-primarily with pant
inseam and coat chest circumference-but overall,
the standard's sizing charts for structural firefighting
are less restrictive than those in NFPA 1977.
There's a significant difference in how the
two standards handle coat and pants sizing
42 | NFPA JOURNAL * SPRING 2023
requirements, explained Jeffrey Stull, a PPE consultant
and researcher who has sat on the NFPA
PPE standards committees for 40 years. Both
documents contain sizing charts, which provide
manufacturers with the minimum and maximum
size parameters they must offer for men's and women's
coats and trousers, as well as the minimum
increments in sizes that must be made available,
Stull said. NFPA 1971, however, does not restrict
manufacturers from going outside these ranges, in
part because structural turnout gear is measured
to an individual. " It's like going in to get measured
for a suit, " Stull said. " The manufacturer has a
system where they measure body dimensions for
the person, and that's the case for the majority of
gear. There's really no impediment in sizing and fit
included in NFPA 1971-the fit really comes down
to how the manufacturer designs the clothing. "
Wildland sizing charts in NFPA 1977, however,
are more comprehensive and more or less fixed.
Additionally, the document distinguishes between
men's and women's sizes only when it comes to
pants sizing-other garments are considered unisex.
NFPA 1977 is currently in cycle, and the findings in
the Kwon-McQuerry report, as well as the sizing
charts in general, have been the subject of " intense
debate over the last few weeks, " Stull said. The conversation
has focused on changing sizing guidance
to be more focused on body dimensions rather than
on garment dimensions.
McQuerry considers that an important distinction,
and it's something she and Kwon plan to
present to the technical committees of both PPE
standards. " We're trying to not just look at isolated
IMAGES ABOVE AND FACING PAGE, CASSANDRA KWON AND MEREDITH MCQUERRY
NFPA Journal - Spring 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Spring 2023
