The Fire Industry Equipment Research Organization’s second Fire PPE Symposium will be held on May 2–4 in Charlotte, N.C. The biennial event is designed to educate anyone involved with providing personal protective equipment for firefighters and first responders.

According to Robert Tutterow — health and safety coordinator for the Charlotte Fire Department and longtime safety advocate — the idea for a PPE symposium came about during a NFPA technical committee meeting several years ago in Portland, Maine.

“During a group development process, we all agreed that the No. 1 priority was education, and that was beyond the scope of the committee,” Tutterow said. After thinking about the possibilities, he went back to the technical committee with a plan for FIERO to organize a symposium.

“The purpose was to get some educational seeds planted across the nation and bring together experts and end users and give them a behind-the scenes [look at] about the care and use of PPE,” Tutterow said. “Up until the early ‘90s, there wasn’t much concern about PPE and was no need to worry about it. Now it’s not only a safety issue, but the cost of PPE has gotten so great, there’s more money at stake to take proper care of this equipment.”

Symposium topics will include legal issues related to the selecting, caring for and maintaining PPE; selecting and maintaining PPE through understanding design, performance, testing and certification; and gaining insight into structural, wildland and hazmat gear, SCBA and electronics.

Supporting organizations include the Fire Department Safety Officers Association, the International Association of Fire Fighters, IAFC’s Safety, Health & Survival Section, and National Volunteer Fire Council. For more information and registration information, visit www.fireppesymposium.com or e-mail fieroinfo@earthlink.net.