Flame Resistant Clothing (FRC) is made up of a fabric that gets extinguished as and when the source of ignition, either a flame or an electric arc, is removed. This allows a wearer to have enough time to retract themselves from such a condition. At HARBOR365’s, we make FR clothing that is compliant as per the common American and European standards which are specifically meant to provide occupational health and safety.

• Protective clothing selection must be based on the probable worst-case exposure for a task as the clothing should provide a good functional fit for protection and comfort while working.

  Things to keep in mind while wearing your protective workwear;

  • Sleeve cuffs should be fully rolled down and buttoned
  • Garment should be free of flammable contaminants such as oil or grease
  • Appropriate protective covering for the neck, face, eye, head, hand, and foot is advised
  • In case of inner and outer layers, outerwear must also be flame resistant, since flammable outerwear can ignite and continue to burn, essentially eliminating the protection of flame-resistant clothing worn underneath
  • Undergarments worn against the skin should be FR or 100% natural fibre (cotton, wool, silk)

The difference between clothing worn every day and FR clothing is the flame resistant properties of the fabric. In order to be considered flame resistant, an FR garment undergoes a complex and costly process — either special fibres are used or the fabric is treated with chemicals. Each garment that HARBOR365 offers complies with stringent quality and safety requirements that the normal, everyday clothes do not require. Hence, the cost is relatively higher.

Both treated and inherently flame resistant fabrics are flame resistant for the useful life of the garment. The difference between them relates to the process used in making the final product Flame Resistant. Treated cotton fabrics are given a flame-resistant chemical application, which the originally non-FR fabric is immersed in after it is woven together. 

On the other hand, Inherent fabric contains fibres that have an FR polymer base so that there is no need for topical treatment. Inherent fabrics/garments are flame-resistant at the molecular level.

All products of HARBOR365 are Inherently Flame Resistant (meaning flame resistant at the molecular level) and are made from the most advanced fabric technologies from around the world.

Quill, which is one of the most premium ranges of Flame Resistant Clothing is made using the Lenzing FR fibre that is sourced from Austria, and is known for its lifelong FR and comfort properties. Our garments do not lose any of their protective, comfort or strength-related properties with usage, wash or time. You only have to replace our garments when there is physical damage to the garment or you feel you have been using them for too long.

It is due to common standards and practices in use and being followed strictly, all the accessories that are used in protective workwear are also Flame Resistant. At Harbor365, the buttons, zippers, velcros and others, are all Flame Resistant. Infact, the threads that are used to stitch the garments is also resistant to heat, flame and other hazards. 

In general, for most of the garments the Arc Rating is denoted as ASTM 1506 and can be described as: “The value that indicates the arc performance of a material or system of materials. It is either the Arc Thermal Performance Value (APTV) or Breakopen Threshold Energy (EBT) when the ATPV cannot be determined by the test method F 1959.” 

One can find the garment’s arc rating on the interior tag. At HARBOR365, we also incorporate an exterior label on our garments that indicate both a garment’s arc rating and its hazard risk category.

ATPV is an acronym for Arc Thermal Performance Value, under the arc testing norms, it can further be classified as “the incident energy on a fabric or material that results in sufficient heat transfer through the fabric or material to cause the onset of a second-degree burn based on the Stoll curve.

EBT is an acronym for Energy Breakeven Threshold, it is a value that is “the average of the five highest incident energy exposure values below the Stoll curve where specimens do not exhibit breakopen.” The EBT is similar to ATPV, but is determined when breakopen occurs before the onset of a second-degree burn.

All our garments come with an inner tag as well as a hang-tag that contains all necessary information regarding the arc-rated clothing, it includes labelling with:

• Manufacturer
• Country of Manufacturing/Origin
• Garment ID Number
• Fibre Content
• Statement of Compliance with ASTM 1506
• Care Instructions
• Tracking code to track the entire history of the garment in case of an issue with the garment

Additionally, an exterior label includes a garment’s arc rating and its CAT rating so that the protective specifics of each garment are highly visible. Even from a distance, Safety Managers can see that workers are protected at a glance. And, our HARBOR365 labels denoting “FR” are in a prominent location at the back neck on shirts, jackets, coveralls and sweatshirts and on the back pocket of jeans, pants and bib overalls.