Flame Resistance
Until recently, creating a flame-resistant fabric or garment meant decreasing comfort and reducing critical performance characteristics such as breathability, stretch, and wicking. Massif began with the radical concept that protective flame-resistant gear can perform as well as the best outdoor clothing on the market. Since 1999, Massif has invested tens of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of person-hours engineering a new generation of performance FR fabrics that provide protection for people who take on the world’s most dangerous jobs.
Most fabrics are made of combustible materials (such as cotton, nylon, and polyester) and will ignite when exposed to a flame. A flame hazard may be short-lived, but if your clothes catch on fire, the potential for burn injuries is exacerbated. Thus, the most important defining characteristic of an FR fabric is that it doesn’t support combustion – meaning that, at least, it won’t add to a burn injury; and, in many cases, will protect the user from getting burned by creating a thermal barrier between a flame hazard and the skin.
Many Massif® Flame-Resistant garments undergo testing including “PyroMan™.” This test, designed by John Morton-Aslanis, is performed at Textile Protection and Comfort Center located in the North Carolina State University Wilson College of Textiles and consists of a testing environment with 122 PyroCal heat sensors and a 4 second exposure time at a temperature around 1100 ºc. The ultimate test for protecting our end users in the harshest environments. The images and video showcase our legacy Elements™ Jacket and Pant with our our patented Battleshield X 3-layer laminate fabric. The result at the end of the test would give the end user a burn injury prediction of less than 3%. Our hope is that none of our end users have to test his for themselves, but with significant testing we can make sure that we limit their injuries if they are faced with an extreme scenario.
“PyroMan™ by John Morton-Aslanis, is used with permission from the Textile Protection and Comfort Center located in the North Carolina State University Wilson College of Textiles
When you wear a Massif® FR garment, you can trust that it will provide you with a proven combination of flame resistance, performance, and comfort. The performance and comfort will be obvious. And hopefully, you’ll never have an opportunity to learn about the quality of our flame resistance from a real world experience. But if you do, you’ll be glad you invested in a quality product