North West Fire Consortium awards PPE contract to Cosalt
10 May 2010
After a year-long procurement exercise Cosalt has been awarded a major contract by a consortium of North West Fire and Rescue Services to supply new kit to firefighters throughout the region.
The new firecoat and overtrousers is manufactured in PBI to exacting technical and ergonomic standards. Both garments have a para-aramid outer fabric to impart excellent inherent mechanical strength and feature ergonomic design enhancements to deliver increased performance and comfort over existing kit.
For many years, Cosalt has been one of the UK's leading providers of protective clothing and equipment to the emergency services, military, transport and construction industries. The company supplies structural fire fighting and rescue kit to the majority of UK fire brigades. Under this new framework, firefighters from all over the North West will be wearing the same new kit by the end of the year.
Watch Manager Tony Franklin of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, who volunteered to take part in the rigorous testing and assessment process, said: "All involved agreed that the Cosalt kit was well over and above the other kits. It stood out as the most suitable for what we require. It was the most comfortable and practical and integrated best with the rest of the current PPE, such as the helmet, boots and gloves. It was also more user-friendly as it was easier to don the kit and was a better fit."
According to Cosalt's Design Manager Jayne Alexander, achieving the final design for the new ensemble was an evolutionary process that drew inspiration from a number of market sectors as well as Cosalt's in-depth knowledge and understanding of the fire market and the changing role of today's firefighter.
She said: "We take a pro-active approach to design so we are always working on improvements, assessing how to improve cut and fit, fabrics and assemblies and then design these incremental advances into new products. Many of the design features in the new fire kit have evolved at different stages over the last few years. Some were taken from our award winning Technical Rescue suit, others, for example, from the work we have done in the rail sector. Our aim first and foremost is to satisfy the customer's requirement but we also want to reach beyond their expectations and introduce the very latest technology and design thinking.
"For the North West consortium, the brief was to achieve the best ergonomic fit and full compatibility with gloves, boots and helmets, while keeping weight as light as possible for maximum manoeuvrability. This had to be done without compromising on heat protection and technical performance. By working very closely with the brigades and listening carefully to their feedback, we were able to test our ideas and make the product even better during the design stage."