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Symptoms of heat stroke are hot, dry skin with no sweating, very high body temperatures, weakness, dizziness,
rapid breathing, nausea, unconsciousness, and sometimes mental confusion. If you feel any of the above
symptoms at any time, get to a cool area immediately, remove your complete NFPA Protective Ensemble,
including Footwear, drink fluids and seek medical attention. Failure to seek attention could lead to coma or
death. Immediate cooling is essential for survival in heat stroke cases.
WARNING
!
You must be physically fit to safely perform strenuous work under stressful conditions. Regular cardiovascular
exercise, abstaining from cigarette smoking, proper training, a healthy diet, and avoidance of obesity, can help
to reduce the risk of heart attack.
WARNING
!
10.6 HEART ATTACKS: A RESULT OF OVEREXERTION
During Structural fire fighting operations, the heart beats faster because of the need to
move more blood to the working muscles. This blood carries more oxygen to the muscles
so that they can handle the increased workload.
Another factor in increasing the rate of the heart is the presence of adrenaline, the “fight
or flight” hormone, in the responder’s body during an emergency. The adrenaline present
in your system causes the heart to pump even faster than during normal activity.
All of these factors could place too much stress on the heart, leading to a heart attack.
The heart simply cannot handle the load placed on it.
10.7 LIQUID PENETRATION AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
LIMITED Protection against liquid penetration from common chemicals
The NFPA 1992 Compliant Footwear’s moisture barrier is tested for resistance against
penetration from liquid splash by only 10 common hazardous liquid chemicals after
1 hour exposures. These chemicals are Sodium hydroxide, Sodium hypochlorite,
Dimethylformamide, Tetrachloroethylene, Fuel H, Isopropyl alcohol, Butyl acetate, Methyl
isobutyl ketone, Nitrobenzene, Sulfuric acid.
The NFPA 1971 Compliant Footwear’s moisture barrier is tested for resistance against
penetration from liquid splash by only 6 common fire ground chemicals after 1 hour
exposures. These chemicals are 1. AFFF Foam (3 % concentrate); 2. battery acid (37 %
by weight sulfuric acid to water); 3. Fire resistant hydraulic fluid, phosate ester base,
containing 50 % – 80 % tributyl phosphate (CAS No. 126-73-8); 4. Surrogate gasoline – Fuel
H as defined by ASTM D471 Standard test method for rubber property-effect of liquids
consisting of 42.5 % toluene, 42.5 % iso-octane, and 15 % ethanol by volume respectively;
5. Swimming pool chlorinating chemical containing at least 65 percent-free chlorine
(saturated solution) and 6. Automobile antifreeze fluid (ethylene glycol, 90 % by weight
or higher concentration)
These liquids are tested because they are considered to be the most common chemicals
encountered in structual fire fighting and hazardous materials emergency incident
operations. Footwear provides limited protection against incidental contact with these
materials encountered during routine operations.
The moisture barrier has not been evaluated for all chemicals that can be encountered
during fire fighting/technical rescue operations and the effects of chemical exposure on
the moisture barrier are to be evaluated per the inspection procedures in NFPA 1851/1855.
