ISO 18639 discusses PPE ensembles for firefighters undertaking specific rescue activities. ISO 18639‑4 is an international standard on gloves for firefighters to ensure protection during specific rescue activities.
ISO 18639‑4 is the fourth part of a multi-part series that provides the principles that govern the development of incident type and hazard-specific test methods and minimum performance requirements for protective gloves for firefighters while engaged in specific rescue activities.
ISO 18639‑4 covers general glove design, the minimum performance level of the materials used and the methods of test for determining this performance level.
ISO 18639‑4 deals with “rescue from emergencies involving modes of transportation” in particular performance requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE) intended to be used by firefighters, primarily but not solely to protect against hazard exposure at non-fire rescue activities involving road traffic crash (RTC) or motor vehicle accidents (MVA).
Note1: ISO 18639‑4 does not cover special gloves for use in other high-risk situations such as firefighting.
Note2: ISO 18639‑4 does not cover protection for the head, torso, arms, legs, and feet.
Note 3: ISO 18639‑4 does not cover protection of the hands against other hazards like chemical, biological, radiation and electrical hazards, except for limited, accidental exposure to fire ground chemicals and blood or body fluids.
ISO 18639‑4 on gloves for firefighters undertaking specific rescue activities is useful for:
Selection of the appropriate system of personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves, is essential and is dependent on carrying out an effective risk assessment that identifies the hazard to be faced, evaluates the likelihood of those hazards, and provides the means of reducing or eliminating these hazards.
ISO 18639‑4 provides you with design and general requirements for protective gloves and deals with “rescue from emergencies involving modes of transportation” performance requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE) intended to be used by firefighters.
The purpose of ISO 18639‑4 is to ensure that minimum performance requirements for the incident type and/or hazard-specific protective gloves are designated.
By adopting the design, testing, marking, inspection, and performance requirements provided by ISO 18639‑4 the user can enhance the performance of protective gloves to ensure protection for firefighters against various hazards.ISO 18639-4:2018