There is a wide range of face fabrics available for use as the outer layer in the construction of firefighting garments. The fibres used in the weaving of these fabrics are generally either a para-aramid or a meta-aramid often blended with carbon fibres for anti-static properties. The best known of these fabrics are Kermel®, Nomex®, PBI® and Basofil®. FlamePro® garments can be produced from any of these fabrics often in a range of colours and with various weave types i.e. plain, ripstop or twill.

The thermal layers are composed of similar fibres to those used in the woven fabrics and are generally either, needle felt, spun bonded non-wovens or knitted structures. The main purpose of the thermal layer is to provide a high proportion of open pockets between the fibres in order to trap as much air as possible since air is a very poor conductor of heat. Lining fabrics are usually fixed to the thermal barrier by adhesive or stitch bonding and they are usually woven or knitted from a blend of FR and meta-aramid fibres.

Moisture barriers are essentially constructed using a waterproof, breathable membrane laminated to an inherently fire retardant spun bonded non-woven or knitted substrate. There is a variety of types of membrane ranging from PTFE through FR polyester to FR polyurethanes and these barriers are all completely waterproof and provide good water vapour transmission rates for breathability*.

FlamePro® garments use a range of structures designed to meet the specific requirements of the end user. All these structures exceed EN469 requirements and in some cases are tailored to meet the very highest thermal properties available.

A variety of other fabrics, both woven, knitted and non-woven are used in the manufacture of various garments in the product ranges. These fabrics include high quality polyester cottons including fire retardant versions such as Flamemaster®, modified acrylic (modacrylic) fibres e.g. Protex™, spun acrylic thermal fillings, polyester anti-pill fleeces and waterproof, breathable nylon and polyester woven fabrics.

* See following section on waterproof materials