National Wildfire Coordinating Group

National Interagency Fire Center
3833 S. Development Avenue
Boise, ID 83705

Effective immediately, the following statement within the NWCG Fireline Handbook, PMS 410-1, Page 21, is removed: “All PPE must meet or exceed NFPA 1977 Standard on Protective Clothing and Equipment for Firefighters (current edition).”

Adopting NFPA 1977 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Standards is at the discretion of NWCG on an item-by-item basis. In some cases, NWCG believes that employees are adequately protected from hazards commonly found in the wildland fire environment by items of clothing or equipment that do not fully meet all NFPA 1977 Standards.

If there is not an NWCG specific standard regarding a specific PPE item, member agencies shall revert to their respective agency standards and/or policies; for example, wildland fire PPE standards are identified in the Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations-NFES 2724 (Red Book), Chapter 7.

Questions regarding this memorandum can be directed to your agency representative on the Safety and Health Working Team (soon to become the Risk Management Committee): http://www.nwcg.gov/teams/shwt/team2.htm.

cc: NWCG Executive Board

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