What do we wear?

The helmet

The firefighter's helmet is made of a very hard plastic called Kevlar. There are two coloured helmets. Yellow for the fire fighters and white for the officers.

On the front of the helmet is a plastic visor that protects the firefighters face from sparks and heat.

The main reason firefighters wear the helmet is to protect their heads from falling debris but also to cover their hair which could catch fire very easily if it was not protected.

The jacket and trousers

The firefighters jacket and trousers are fire proof and made of a special material called NOMEX. This material is very light and strong and is easily worn. It was first used for the racing drivers in the Grand Prix's and then developed for the Fire Service.

The gloves

Firefighters wear thick fireproof gloves to protect their hands from the heat and from broken debris such as glass.

The boots

The boots are large rubber wellington boots. They have metal toecaps to protect your toes and little rubber handles at the top to help the firefighter pull them on very quickly.

The boots have very thick soles to protect the firefighter if they step on any sharp objects such as broken glass and nails.

Firefighters never tuck their trousers into their boots. They allow their trousers to hang over their boots; this stops anything, fragments or burning embers, from dropping down inside.

The torch

The torch is used to help the firefighter find their way in very dark places. It can also help other firefighters keep in touch and see each other.

The breathing apparatus (BA)

The breathing apparatus is a cylinder worn on the firefighters back which is full of air. A tube runs from the cylinder to a rubber facemask that allows the fire fighter to breathe safely when they are in very thick smoke or, when the air around them might be full of very dangerous things such as gases or chemicals