One of the last things on a worker’s mind during a rainy day on the job site is the potential danger of a fire breaking out. The constant downpour of water often puts people at ease when thinking about the possibility of getting burned. However, this is a false sense of security. That’s why we’re taking the time to go over why your work rain gear needs to be fire-resistant.
Possible Fire-Related Dangers in the Rain
Even though standard flames can’t last long in a rainstorm, that doesn’t mean they can’t start in the first place. Flash fires are a common occurrence on some job sites, so even though it won’t last long, a fire can start very suddenly and take you by surprise if you’re not wearing the right gear.
There are still quite a few other ways you can get burned that don’t involve your everyday fire. For example, arc flashes and electrical burns don’t slow down because it’s wet outside. In fact, electricity conducts better through water, which could make the burns from it even worse. Grease fires and explosions don’t slow down based on the weather either, and they can burn you just as bad, if not worse.
Why Your Top Layer Needs To Protect From Both
As an improvised solution, some industrial workers will wear fire-resistant clothing under their water-resistant jackets and think that they’ll be fine—this isn’t the case, though. Though most standard rain gear doesn’t burst into flames, they’re not made to resist them either. That means they can catch on fire and melt to your FR clothing underneath.
While your flame-resistant undershirt will put up a stronger fight than a normal one, having flames and melted rain gear on top of it will lead to it eventually failing and burning you. This may seem like it’ll give you enough time to take it off, but melted rain gear is quite difficult to remove.
Look Into the Product Before Buying
Even if you understand why your work rain gear needs to be fire-resistant, that doesn’t mean manufacturers will. As we previously mentioned, rain gear inherently has some fire-resistant properties on its own. While we know that doesn’t mean it’s entirely safe against flames, the people that make them sometimes do believe this and will label them as such.
That’s why you can’t take an FR logo’s work for it. Instead, you need to look into the details to see an item’s actual FR rating. If it doesn’t even show them, it’s probably not fire-resistant. Even if you find the ratings, it’s still a good idea to check reviews to see if anybody has had this product fail to do the very thing that it claims that it can. If, after all of that, you’re still unsure, check out the fire-resistant rain gear offered by FR Outlet. Our items all but guarantee to give you the protection you need on those dark, rainy days.