On the surface, modern technology has made the cleaning of turnout gear and station wear a simple and straightforward endeavor. However, peel back the layers and the task becomes increasingly more complex.

The first decision that has to be made concerns whether to launder in-house. Assuming the decision is made to do so, a plethora of other choices follow: what type of equipment to specify; where such equipment should be located in the fire house; how often gear should be cleaned; and, what are the best practices that should be followed to ensure proper decontamination without shortening the lifespan of very expensive — and very vital — protective equipment.

Once all of these decisions have been made, then there's one last hurdle that has to be cleared, one that might be the most challenging of all — addressing the cultural bias that exists in many sectors of the U.S. fire service against cleaning gear too often.

Of course, most, if not all, of these decisions will depend on whether a department is volunteer, combination or career. But, regardless of the choices that ultimately are made, the cleaning and decontamination of turnout gear and station wear is something that no fire chief can afford to take lightly.

Set it and Forget it

There are several advantages of sending turnout gear to a commercial entity for cleaning and decontamination. First, there's no cash outlay for in-station equipment. Second, there's no need to train firefighters for this task, or burden them with it. Finally, there are no logistics to worry about, such as where to locate the equipment, whether the ventilation system can accommodate the cleaning process, and so on.

The big disadvantage of sending turnout gear out for cleaning is time; gear can be turned around quicker when it's cleaned and decontaminated in-house. For those departments that opt for that approach, the first decision that has to be made concerns whether to buy a commercial or industrial machine. Each of the vendor representatives interviewed for this article offered the same caution: You get what you pay for.

"Industrial machines are hearty, rugged and built to last," said Keith Quarles, regional sales manager for Pellerin Milnor Corp. "This means the total cost of ownership is less."

For example, Milnor machines feature a tapered roller bearing that offers a longer contact area that spreads force over a greater distance, which results in longer life; in contrast, commercial machines use ball bearings that are pressed into the cylinder, which makes maintenance costly, Quarles said.

"You can't just do a bearing maintenance, you have to replace everything," he said. "So, whatever savings you thought you had [achieved] by buying a commercial machine goes away."

Kim Shady, North America sales manager for Alliance Laundry Systems, agreed that spending a little more money over the short term pays big long-term dividends. He advised any department that's considering an equipment purchase to make sure that they purchase machines that are pre-programmed to be in compliance with NFPA 1851, Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Firefighting and Proximity Firefighting, which governs inspection, cleaning and decontamination of turnout gear.

Departments also should purchase equipment that uses words, not codes, on their displays, Shady advised.

"Sometimes they just say, "cycle number one,' and if you don't know what cycle number one is, that's a problem," he said. "If you buy the lowest-priced machine, that's what you're going to end up with. But if you spend another $400 or $500, you'll get a display that says 'jackets,' 'liners' or 'station towels.'"

Another advantage to programmable machines beyond NFPA compliance is that they can be set to automatically select the proper chemical and chemical-to-water-mixture, Quarles said, adding that departments should avoid machines that don't pre-mix, because degradation problems ensue when chemicals come into direct contact with turnout gear. Another good idea is to work with the vendor's local distributor that installed the machine to ensure that the chemicals and detergents being used are in the proper amount for each application.

The distributor also will ensure that only chemicals and detergents are used that are compatible with the machine and suitable for the particular gear or clothing that is being cleaned. The latter consideration is vitally important when cleaning turnout gear, said Bruce Teele, the NFPA's senior fire service safety specialist.

"They need to follow the manufacturer's instructions … simply because different manufacturers use different types of product in the construction of their PPE," Teele said. "Failure to do so can make the PPE more susceptible to damage."

Damage is something that should be avoided at all costs for a couple of important reasons, said Joel Jorgensen, vice president of sales and customer services for Continental Girbau.

"That personal protective equipment goes on the most important asset that a department has — the personnel," he said. "Also, the gear represents a huge investment. If you can double the life of gear … because of the way you're handling it in the decontamination and cleaning, you're going to lower the cost of ownership — and that all comes back to the type of equipment you choose."

For that reason, it is critical that any washer purchased by a fire department that also functions as an extractor — essentially a very-high-speed spin cycle that pulls most of the water out of the turnout jackets and liners so that they dry faster — performs at speeds no higher than 100 Gs. Anything higher than that threshold over time will compromise the PPE's moisture-barrier properties. Also, machines that can achieve significantly higher speeds — which are popular, for instance, in the hotel sector because of the enormous amount of heavy cotton towels and linens that must be laundered — cost more.

"You don't want to pay for a machine that can do 300 or 400 G force, when you only need it to do 100," Shady said.