Hazard > Flash Fire Basics > Flash Fire Protection

Flash Fire Protection

Although 3 seconds has been established as the time frame to analyze the performance of secondary protective clothing, additional exposure times in the range of 1.5 to 4 seconds were examined to more completely profile fabric protective performance. Within these parameters of up to 3 seconds and below 50% body burn in accordance with NFPA and CGSB standards and definitions, INDURA® Ultra Soft® has a protective advantage over Nomex® IIIA throughout the entire range of the burn curve. The issue of relevance in comparing secondary protective clothing fabrics above these levels should be carefully considered. If your exposure potential is 4 to 5 seconds or produces body burns near to or over 50%, Westex highly recommends protective clothing systems of multiple flame resistant layers or primary protective clothing such as turnout gear.

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The University of Alberta has one of the very few completely independent flash fire manikin laboratories in the world. It has been in service since 1989, and has conducted thousands of tests for hundreds of clients. A manikin is exposed to a flash fire created by propane burners, and the resultant heat rise is measured by 110 thermocouples. Heat fluxes are precisely controlled to applicable standards, and a computer collects the data and, by comparison to the Stoll curve, is able to predict the extent, severity and location of 2nd and 3rd degree body burn.