• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.58 no.9
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• pp.166-175
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• 2008

For the structural firefighting protective clothing, it can show a synergy effect when it satisfies smart fabric to block off a harmful environmental element and ergonomics design that apply range of motion of human body and appropriate size system. There are various standards about the structural firefighting protective clothing, but it's difficult to find a rule about movement suitability because the performance of the material holds a lot of the rules. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose a scheme to evaluate the current structural firefighting protective clothing and to improve movement suitability by research on the actual condition. For this, the survey about wearer acceptability scale on design and size and about improvement requirements was executed gathering firefighters' opinion. Questionnaire was composed with 23 items about satisfaction on current structural firefighting protective clothing, body suitability, movement suitability, improvement requirement and subjective information. As a results, Korean firefighters demand ergonomics design of structural firefighting protective clothing which to minimize restriction of body movement and to maximize body suitability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.827-839
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• 2009

Sizing system of Korean structural firefighting protective clothing that is national approved should be met for specification of structural firefighting protective clothing that is identified by Ministry of Public Administration and Security(MOPAS). However if you look over the specification of sizing system, the standard is based on only 'height' and the others are indicated as the size of completed product. KS K ISO 13688 and EN 340 which is met on ISO 13688 which indicates sizing system about protective clothing has the standards of height, chest and waist circumference. Also NFPA 1971 that has standards of sizing system is based on chest circumference, cervical to wrist length, waist circumference and inseam. That is different from Korean standards. Therefore, fire fighting protective clothing standards which is based on only height should be compensated and not be relied on foreign standards like ISO. It is indispensable for developing our own sizing system of structural fire fighting protective clothing. In this studying, Korean new sizing system of structural fire fighting protective clothing was developed for providing basic information of ergonomic structural fire fighting protective clothing. The analyzed target age was between 20 and 59 years old fire fighter who extinguish the fire. And it was analyzed by 3D measurement among data of the $5^{th}$ Size Korea. On conclusion, in case of structural fire fighting protective clothing coat, physical dimension was to be chest circumference, cervical to wrist length. Three dimensions as 5cm space of circumference and four dimensions as 2.5cm space of cervical to wrist length were derived, which means that totally 12 dimensions were defined. Dimension standards of pants was based on the analysis of waist circumference and crotch height. Six dimensions as 5cm space of waist circumference and three dimensions as 5cm space of crotch height were derived, which means that totally 14 dimensions were defined.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.109-121
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• 2012

This study aims at developing ergonomics patterns for the sleeve of structural firefighting protective clothing through 3D motion analysis in order to ensure efficiency and safety of firefighters who are exposed to harmful environment at work. A new research pattern was developed by applying the total results of 3D motion analysis, changes of body surface length measurements, and 2D data on 3D body shape analysis on the size 3 patterns of the existing coat sleeve. For the sleeves, we used the body surface length of the range of shoulder's flexion and the joint angle of the range of wrist's ulnar deviation. And for the production of structural firefighting protective clothing using the research pattern, we recruited a recognized producer of structural firefighting protective clothing designated by KFI. Unlike everyday clothes, structural firefighting protective clothing should be able to fully protect the wearers from the harmful environment that threatens their lives and should not cause any restrictions on their movement. Therefore, the focus of research and development of such protective clothing should be placed on consistent development of new technologies and production methods that will provide protection and comfort for the wearer rather than production cost reduction or operational efficiency. This study is meaningful as it applied 3D motion analysis instead of the existing methods to develop the patterns. In particular, since 3D motion analysis enables the measurement of the range of motion, there should be continuous research on the development of ergonomics patterns that consider workers' range of motion.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.35-41
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• 2018

The purpose of study intends to investigate effects of repetitive work and workload for body while wearing firefighting protective clothing in hot conditions and to provide the basic data for the safety of firefighter. The experimental temperature is WBGT $30^{\circ}C$ and the work intensity is 3, 9 METs. The experiment is processed 15 minutes (Ex1), 15 minutes rest (Rest), 15 minutes (Ex2) in order of time. A comparative experiment was carried out for firefighting school students(9 persons; $24.3{\pm}0.71$ years old) wearing firefighting protective clothing. When workload is increased from 3 METs to 9 METs, mean skin temperature change (33.3%), tympanic temperature change (242.9%), heart rate (36.2%), respiration rate (53.9%), RPE (81.6%), thermal Sensation (20.8%), weight loss (60.0%), glucose (-4.4%), lactate (41.7%) are statistically significantly higher. As a result, it is considered that repetitive work and workload have a strong effect on the body when wearing firefighting protective clothing in hot conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.921-935
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• 2016

This research analyzed the manual performance of firefighting protective gloves on global markets in order to suggest an evaluation method for firefighting protective gloves wearing comfort. We collected 13 types of firefighting gloves from domestic and international markets (7 types from Korea, 3 types form Europe, 2 types from the U.S and 1 type from Japan). We set the Don-Doff test as a basal requirement for moving toward to further manual performance tests that consist of: ASTM dexterity test, Minnesota dexterity test, Bennett hand tool test and ASTM torque test. All gloves were evaluated in dry and wet conditions, we included eight current male firefighters ($43.4{\pm}7.0yr$ in age, $173.1{\pm}4.4cm$ in height, $79.9{\pm}9.2kg$ in body mass) for the tests. Four gloves (1 Korea, 1 U.S, 1 Germany, and 1 Japan) out of thirteen firefighting gloves passed the Don-Doff test and had great subject preferences. There was no significant difference between dry and wet conditions on the ASTM dexterity test, Minnesota dexterity test, Bennett hand tool test and ASTM torque test. However, Japanese gloves had the greatest score and showed 3-4 times faster completion time on the ASTM dexterity test (p<.05), 1.2-1.5 times faster on the Minnesota dexterity test (p<.05), as fast as the bare hand on Bennett hand tool test (p<.05), and greater performance on the ASTM torque test compared to bare hand. In conclusion, Don-Doff test in wet conditions should be the first step for a mobility evaluation of domestic firefighting protective gloves; subsequently, a comprehensive test assorting ASTM, Minnesota, and Bennett test should be developed as a second step. The current ASTM torque test can be adopted as a third step. This three-step-method for evaluating firefighting protective glove mobility can be expected to expand into surveys of other safety gloves in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.950-965
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• 2017

This present study proposed a newly developed test method to evaluate the dexterity and mobility of a firefighter's protective gloves. The first step evaluated the mobility and dexterity of the current type of fire protective gloves and three new types of protective gloves using Don-doff test, ASTM dexterity, Minnesota dexterity, Bennett hand tool test, and ASTM torque test. Three firefighters ($47.3{\pm}5.0yr$ in age, $178.6{\pm}2.9cm$ in height) participated in a series of experiments. The second step was to design and suggest an integrated test method based on the results of the first experiment. As a result of the first experiment, we concluded that 1) the mobility and dexterity tests for firefighting gloves should include both wet and dry tests, 2) The three kinds of dexterity tests could be integrated into one test, and 3) The don-doff test and the torque test should be independent from the newly developed integrated test. In summary, we suggested a simplified test method that combined ASTM dexterity, Minnesota dexterity, and Bennett hand tool test. The integrated system can reduce total time spent on dexterity tests and improve the validity of the test in terms of firefighters' manual work.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.110-121
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• 2018

The present article is concerned with a study on the daily training protocol for field crews wearing chemical protection clothing for firefighting and the analysis of activity. To improve coping ability of & secure safety for firefighting crews initially incorporated in the fields of chemical accident & chemical terror, 10 steps in total of daily training protocol have been designed. The designed protocol is largely composed of the extensive activity protocol for daily adaptation of firefighting chemical protection clothing (steps 1, 2, 6, 7 & 9), the precision operation protocol utilizing hands (steps 3, 4 & 5), and the protocol requiring strong physical burdens (steps 8 & 10). According to the measurement results for activity as a result of the protocol, the average maximum heart rate upon wearing the firefighting chemical protection clothing was shown to increase by step 1 20.32%, step 2 18.69%, step 3 25.23%, step 4 34.77%, step 5 27.44%, step 6 30.24%, step 7 25.33%, step 8 22.25%, step 9 22.80% and step 10 20.85% compared with the time of not wearing them. The average maximum breathing rate was shown to increase by step 3 1.92%, step 4 4.11%, step 5 1.24%, step 6 3.95%, step 7 0.93%, step 8 10.23%, step 9 3.36% and step 10 15.10%, except for steps 1 & 2.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.182-194
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• 2022

Objectives: This study evaluates and recommends the priority of policy implementation to improve the fire protection clothing management system used by firefighters and the reduction of cross-contamination from contaminated clothing at the scene of a fire. Methods: It consisted of 7 experts and conducted three interviews and two modified Delphi surveys. Through the results of previous research and interviews with experts, a plan to reduce cross-contamination of fire suits and improve the management system was first derived. An improvement plan was presented in the four areas including resources, management, fire protection related work, and laws and regulations, and the priority of policy implementation was derived by analyzing the importance and practicality of the policy at the same time. Results: As a result of the analysis, the first priority was education on the health effects of pollutants at the disaster scene for firefighters, and the second priority was the addition of SOP for the primary decontamination of on-scene personal protective equipment in preparation for the health effects of the disaster scene, and education for fire suppression and rescue workers. The next step was to improve the management system of personal protective equipment such as fire suits and develop a training course for systematic operation. Conclusions: This findings could be used in the implementation of mid- to long-term firefighting policies for the systematic operation and establishment of a systematic management system for personal protective equipment such as fire protective suits.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.520-533
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• 2023

The present study developed a test protocol for evaluating the mobility of firefighting chemical and flame personal protective equipment (PPE) for the National 119 Rescue Headquarters in Korea and suggested ergonomic design factors to improve their mobility and performance. Six types of PPE were employed, including three types for flame protective PPE (5 ~ 6 kg excluding the self-contained breathing apparatus), and three types for chemical and flame protective PPE (8 ~ 11 kg). These PPEs are used by the 119 Rescue firefighters. Three male firefighters (34.3 ± 1.2 y in age, 175 ± 8 cm in height, 81 ± 13 kg in body weight) participated in the mobility test and interview. A mobility test protocol consisting of 16 components (nine postures and seven motions including a dexterity test) along with a visibility test were developed based on pre-interviews and literature reviews. The findings indicated that the clothing microclimate humidity on the neck and chest exceeded 85%RH on average for all the six PPE conditions, with the chest area reaching as high as 98%RH. This high humidity caused fogging inside the visor and impaired visibility. The requirements for improving the PPE design in terms of mobility varied depending on whether it was the separated types or all-in-one types, particularly regarding the hood and gloves design. The findings of this study can be applied to improve the design of Level A_PPE for firefighters. The mobility test protocol and visibility test developed in this study can also be applied to other types of Level A impermeable PPE.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.37 no.12 s.142
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• pp.59-67
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• 1999

This study analyzed firefighter's actual wearing condition of turnout gear The results are as fellows: 1. When a firefighter is employed, Korea applies only the minimum of firefighters stature and weight but America applies both the minimum and the maximum. The choice of size is highly related with stature more than chest circumference. 2. The satisfaction degree of thermal barrier is very low, 3%. They used rubber gloves rather than heatproof gloves. This is more serious in small country like 'up', 'myun' than in cities. For laundering, they used sprinkling method with firefighting hose. Firefigthers hoped that their clothes could be classified tv the seasons and fire places. 3. frefighter had high unsatisfaction with the movement of hands and leges in the aspect of movement adjustability, air permeability, weight, body temperature regulation, and breathing in the hygenic aspect, fire resistance, thermal resistance property, water proof, chemical reactivity and electrical conductivity. Thev were also unsatisfied with water proof boots and gloves. They were generally satisfied with helmets but firefighters over 90kg of weight were rather unsatisfied. 4. The satisfaction degree for physical fitness was very low and the items with which they were not satisfied depend on physical features. 5. To develop turnout gear, they wanted changes in design, material and size. Reflection tape need to be replaced with high quality products and they wanted the use of velcro and zipper in fastening system.