While Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) captured wildfires burning the highest amount of land in Europe (659,541 hectares) in the year to mid-August 2022 since records began in 2006 from on high, it was once again left to firefighters on the ground to get to the heart of the matter.
During August’s heatwave, one blaze alone in southwestern France set light to 7,000 hectares, with French authorities requesting attendance from over 1,000 firefighters and requesting support from organisations in Austria, Germany, Greece, Poland and Romania.
But the rising wildfire menace is only one cue for what VIKING Life-Saving Equipment believes has been an overdue reappraisal of firefighter needs, and the development of two new fire suits that the Danish company says meet and exceed the imperatives of certification, function, comfort and asset management.
“We gave our designers a free hand to start from scratch and deliver high-performance fire suits that go beyond latest protection standards while bringing gains for comfort, visibility and greater freedom of movement,” says Gitte Schou Jensen, Product Manager Fire, VIKING.
Structural firefighting
The VIKING IGNIS EN469 is a testament to VIKING’s strong position as a supplier of PPE for structural firefighting. With an optimised overall fit, VIKING IGNIS EN469 also features reflective piping to emphasise contours for greater visibility and safety without compromising breathability, while extra para-aramid reinforcements at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and bottom of the legs provide maximum durability in challenging conditions.
Jensen tells: “We’ve also ensured that the jacket is designed for optimised mobility at the shoulders and arms with pockets in all the right places. The trousers are also ergonomically designed for maximum comfort and unhindered movement.”
PartX Particle Protection
As an added safety feature, the VIKING IGNIS EN469 is available with optional PartX Particle Protection, adds Jensen. The result of years of development, refinement and rigorous testing, VIKING’s PartX solution draws on technological progress in PPE materials, multi-layered designs and particle filtering capabilities.
“Facing danger is part of the job for firefighters, but exposure to potentially carcinogenic particles represents a continuous risk whose consequences can be just as serious: that also demands innovation,” says Jensen.
Firmly closed PartX cuffs feature a special filtering solution to defend against particle entry without uncomfortable tightening around the wrists, while the PartX closure at the bottom of the legs helps prevent particles from slipping under the hemline without reducing mobility.
