When Should I Wear Flame Resistant Gloves?

People often ask - "when should I be wearing flame resistant gloves?" The answer is relatively straight forward... when you find yourself in a situation where there is a chance of you getting burned.

Open flame is common in many industries and the importance of appropriate protection cannot be overstated. Burn injuries on the job account for 10-45% of all documented burns (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3230153/) and lead to significant morbidity, disability and mortality. Burn injuries are classified into different categories:

Jeschke MG, van Baar ME, Choudhry MA, Chung KK, Gibran NS, Logsetty S. Burn injury. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020 Feb 13;6(1):11.

The depth of tissue involvement determines the severity of the burn. In addition to the depth of the burn, factors like location of burn and the total body surface area burned, are taken into account when treating people who have been burned. When talking specifically about burns to the hand, contractures requiring multiple surgeries and severe functional limitations can occur due to the proximity to important tendons and muscles. The consequences of this highlight the importance of using appropriate hand protection when the threat of fire is present.

Motorsport is a common area fraught with potential for fire. Rescue, recovery and pit crews must all be protected from flash fire with the appropriate glove. The Azotherm AzoShield 211 FR Glove was designed for use in motorsport and allows for superior functionality in this dynamic environment.

Automotive and skilled trade work is an opportunity to utilize flame resistant gloves. Whether soldering a pipe or heating a stuck bolt, working around open flame carries the risk of primary burn injury, as well as secondary injury from ignition of nearby objects or melting of a glove not designed for work around open flame.

The fire service also has opportunities for flame resistant hand protection that does not involve structural fire fighting gloves. Extrication around hot engine blocks or brake rotors can cause normal extrication gloves to melt. The AzoShield 211 FR Glove is made from leather and aramid fabric and will not drip or melt.