A Better Fit

There are more than 90,000 female firefighters in the United States, and nearly all of them wear personal protective equipment that was designed for a man. Not surprisingly, many women report that their gear doesn’t fit, which can lead to injuries and discourage women from entering the fire service.   On today’s podcast, Angelo talks to a researcher who is studying how ill-fitting PPE impacts female firefighters, as well as the prospect for developing a female-specific turnout suit (1:15). Then, Robby speaks with a fire captain in Michigan about her first-hand experience with the problems caused by ill-fitting gear (15:02).   Links: nfpa.org/journal nfpa.org/foundation