Outstanding protection for everyday heroes. Certified and patented.
Fire-fighters are exposed to countless hazards during deployments. Fire-fighting gloves must meet legally defined standards to be approved for the different areas of deployment of the fire brigade. Fire-fighting gloves are required both for providing technical assistance and for fire-fighting. In these two areas, different properties of the gloves are particularly important. Protective properties, such as protection against cuts, punctures, heat and chemicals, while retaining an optimal sense of touch, are important.
EN 659:2003 + A1:2008
EN 659 defines the requirements of fire-fighting gloves for fire-fighting activities. Standard EN 659 is a summary of several standards. The previous standard for protective gloves for fire-fighters EN 659:2003 was replaced with EN 659:2003 + A1:2008. With regard to protection provided by fire-fighting gloves against mechanical risks (abrasion, cutting, tear resistance, puncture resistance), DIN EN 659 refers to DIN EN 388 and defines the minimum level. With regard to thermal resistance, EN 659 refers to EN 407. Here, the minimum levels are defined for burning behaviour, convective heat resistance and contact heat resistance.
Other criteria include resistance to radiant heat, which can be very high depending on the fire-fighting activity. It is important that not only the external material but also the lining is heat-proof. In the event of direct contact with flames, e.g. during a flashover or similar risk, the glove material may shrink. In accordance with ISO 17493, the glove material must not shrink by more than 5% at 180°C.
During a fire-fighting deployment, the time before removal of the glove is also relevant. For fire-fighting gloves, the time taken by a test person to put on and remove a pair of fire-fighting gloves must be measured. This is done three times each for dry gloves and for wet gloves. The mean value for removal of a pair of fire-fighting gloves must not exceed 3 seconds either for wet gloves or for dry gloves.
EN 388:2016
Gloves that are tested and certified to standard EN 388 protect against mechanical risks such as abrasion, cuts and punctures, and the tear resistance of the material used is also tested. Since hand injuries (e.g. cuts, crushing and grazing) can easily occur when providing technical assistance and during accident rescue, THL gloves are classified in PPE (personal protective equipment) category 2. The tests had to be adapted due to the continuous further development of the technical materials – so-called high-performance fibres. The valid version of the standard from 2003 (DIN EN 388:2003) was updated with DIN EN 388:2016, with, in particular, revision of the cut protection, which is particularly important for fire-fighting, and the addition of code letters (A-F): TDM cut test in accordance with ISO 13997.
The DGUV (German Social Accident Insurance) published a special guideline for the minimum requirements of TH gloves in accordance with EN 388:2016, as follows: 3 2 3 3 X, 3 X 3 3 B or 3 2 3 3 B. The numbers represent, in chronological order, the values for abrasion, cutting, tear resistance, puncture resistance and the TDM cut test. X means that the value has not been tested.
In our opinion, higher performance levels are absolutely necessary in particular in terms of cut protection (minimum level 2) and all ESKA TH gloves far exceed the minimum requirements for the cut resistance performance characteristic with test results in level 4 and the highest level 5. With our gloves, fire-fighters and rescue workers are protected by the high cut protection values, amongst other things. The tests had to be adapted due to the continuous further development of the technical materials – so-called high-performance fibres.
The valid version of the standard from 2003 (DIN EN 388:2003) was updated with DIN EN 388:2016, with, in particular, revision of the cut protection, which is particularly important for fire-fighting, and the addition of a code letter (A-F): TDM cut test according to ISO 13997.
EN 407:2004
Protective gloves that are certified to standard DIN EN 407 protect the wearer against short-term exposure to flames as well as contact heat, radiant heat and small splashes of molten metal. Thermal risks occur from a temperature of more than 100°C and the „Heat and flame“ pictogram with a number code (numbers 1 to 4; with 4 as the best value) indicates the type and level of protection:
- Burning behaviour
- Contact heat on palm 100°C
- Load due to small splashes of molten metal
AS/NZS 2161.6-2014 Australian standard
SAI Global is an Australian/New Zealand certification organisation that certifies personal protective equipment under the strictest and highest of requirements. The most important standards in Australia and New Zealand for safety gloves are:
AS/NZS 2161.6:2003 (Type 1)
AS/NZS 2161.6:2014 (Type 3)
The Australian standard for protective gloves to be worn during fire-fighting is split into two different types (1 and 3), which contain different performance requirements.
We produce gloves for both types. Protective gloves according to type 3 (AS/NZS 2161.6-2014) meet the highest performance characteristics and are used for fire-fighting activities. Protective gloves certified to type 1 (AS/NZS 2161.6-2003) are used specifically for bush fires.
The Australian/New Zealand standards require extremely high values, and Australian ESKA fire-fighting gloves exceeding the value for radiant heat by more than double the requirement.
Performance level 3 also requires gloves to be waterproof, but there are no guidelines with regard to blood and virus impermeability. Due to the CROSSTECH® Inserts from GORE-TEX, ESKA exceeds this standard significantly.