PBI has created another milestone in firefighter protection with the launch of its lightest ever new fibre that improves comfort, breathability and freedom of movement for structural firefighting gear.
The company’s specialist research and development team has created PBI LP™ – a unique new fibre for significantly lighter outer fabrics that will maintain heat and flame protection and resistance to break open, without compromise.
Fabric made with PBI LP™, which stands for ‘lightweight performance’, is 10% lighter than other outer fabrics for structural fire gear, helping to reduce the risk of heat stress.
The new lighter fibre performs incredibly well when used in outer shell fabrics, even when tested against other heavier para aramid and meta aramid products. In the Dynamic Flame Test, used to demonstrate the time it takes for an outer fabric to breaks down, PBI LP™ of 180g/m2 lasted 48 seconds, while a much heavier 225/ g/m2 Para-aramid/Meta-aramid fabric lasted just 3 seconds.
Like all PBI fabrics, PBI LP™ delivers excellent tensile strength and will not become brittle, shrink or break open when exposed to flame and high temperatures. This means that the integrity of the internal layers of the garment is protected and the transfer of any radiant heat is slower, allowing more time for firefighters to escape to safety in a situation such as a flashover. PBI’s protection from exposure to heat and flame has been proven over many years of independent testing and performance in the field.
In the 32 years since opening for business in Charlotte, North Carolina, PBI Performance Products has created a legacy of protection that is recognised all over the world. Today, the company is a global force in personal protection in the Middle East, USA, Europe, Asia, and Australasia, because its products do exactly what is promised.
The company has been at the forefront of incredible progress through innovation, creating fabrics that result in more flexible garments providing consistently high levels of protection for the wearer in a range of different challenging work environments.
The new PBI LP™ fabric is a result of PBI’s continued investment in research and development that creates new standards of firefighter protection. That development process always has to take account of the balance between comfort and protection. That is why PBI LP™ joins a wide range of PBI fabrics that meet the need of every situation and work effectively as an integral part of all garment design. Each product has different properties and applications but every PBI fabric provides the required protection from heat and flame that an outer fabric must deliver.
The full range of PBI outer fabrics includes PBI Gold, PBI Matrix, PBI Max, Gemini XTL, Titan 1260 and Ibena X55, ENFORCER 24K and PBI TGP 185, all of which are lightweight, strong and achieve high flame resistance and comfort.
Ian Callaghan, Senior Director of International Sales and Marketing at PBI, said:
“We continuously strive to create products that will meet all the specialist needs of firefighters and give them the peace of mind that their gear will protect them in the most extreme situations.
“PBI has been at the forefront of performance fabric technology for over 30 years and PBI LP™ is the next progressive step in protecting firefighters from heat and flame, while at the same time reducing the risk of heat stress. We are working closely with a number of specialist fabric weavers to develop new PBI LP™ products that will be available in the very near future.”
PBI fabrics are the first line of defence on the fire ground. They are renowned for their exceptional flame resistance and thermal protection from radiant heat and favoured by firefighters around the world.
PBI LP™ is due to officially launch at AFAC 19 in Melbourne, 27th-29th August at PBI’s booth 488.
For more information, go to www.pbiproducts.com
