Hainsworth Protective Fabrics and Sir Ken Knight discuss the past, present and future of firefighter PPE

On 27 May, Hainsworth Protective Fabrics invited leading delegates from the fire industry to their first webinar, ‘The Past, Present and Future of Firefighter PPE’. Hosted on Zoom, this exclusive event featured a talk from influential industry advisor Sir Ken Knight. Sir Ken was joined by Business Director Tom Hainsworth and Technical Manager Martin Haworth.

Established in 1783, Hainsworth has been providing high-performance flame-retardant textiles to firefighters ever since the early days of the London Fire Brigade. This makes the business ideally suited to discuss the evolution of firefighting PPE over the past two centuries.

Over the course of the afternoon, Sir Ken, Tom and Martin discussed how advancement in protective fabrics has been driven by changing safety standards. Significant historic incidents such as the King’s Cross tragedy in 1987 triggered reforms in standards of firefighter protection, which in turn drove manufacturers like Hainsworth to develop innovative new products that maximised wearer safety. This process of evolution continues to this day, with emerging concerns around garment contamination and sustainability resulting in the invention of products such as Hainsworth’s AGILE fabric. AGILE is designed to be exceptionally long-wearing and provides maximum chemical runoff.

The seminar concluded with a session to allow the audience to ask the panel about future developments in PPE and UK standards, which generated plenty of discussion. The event was well received, with attendees praising the knowledgeability of the speakers as well as being given the opportunity to both reminisce about firefighting’s past and to look to the future of protection.

If you’re interested in learning more about this event or attending any of Hainsworth’s future webinars, please contact Lesley Routh-Jones at lesleyrouth-jones@awhainsworth.co.uk or on 0739 456 7259.

For more information, please visit: www.hainsworthprotectives.co.uk