Wildland Firefighting Personal Protective Clothing Cleaning Practices in the United States

The cleaning practices of U.S. wildland firefighter personal protective clothing (PPC) are widely unregulated and unknown. Failure to regularly and effectively clean soiled and contaminated PPC may lead to severe health impacts, especially in the long term, as documented in the structural fire service. This study aimed to investigate the current cleaning practices of wildland firefighting gear and to determine the laundering resources wildland firefighters have access to while deployed in the field. This study is the first of its kind to collect such end-user feedback on wildland firefighter PPC cleaning. Findings indicate the majority of wildland firefighters do not isolate their contaminated gear, wash their PPC at home, and frequently transport their gear in personal vehicles, all of which are significant departures from the recommendations of the National Fire Protection Association 1877 Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Wildland Firefighting Protective Clothing and Equipment. Considerations of practicality and feasibility specific to the wildland fire service should be adopted in the standard.