FILO Apparel, About Our Products

FILO Apparel’s products are engineered to the toughest flame-resistant standards and offer the safest level of comfort. We offer apparel tested to NFPA 1975-2019 utilizing cutting-edge fabric technology. For many professionals, flame-resistant (FR) clothing is an essential tool of the job. High-quality, specially engineered FR garments protect the wearer from burns caused by flash fires, electric arcs, and combustible dust. This allows professionals in a number of industries to tackle potentially dangerous tasks. Over the years, FR clothing has saved countless people from serious injury and even saved lives.

Flame-resistant clothing refers to any garments that are specifically designed to protect the wearer from flames and thermal injury. FR clothing resists ignition and self-extinguishes once the source of the ignition is removed. This helps to prevent burns from both initial exposure to the flames and from residual heat transfer.

What Is Flame-Resistant Clothing?

When exposed to fire or an explosion, a lot of fabrics will ignite and continue to burn. Some will also melt onto the wearer’s body. This can cause significant injuries as textile fires often burn longer and result in more damage than the initial incident.

Flame-resistant clothing is specially designed so that it’s less likely to catch fire when exposed to combustion and high temperatures. In cases where the fabric does ignite, it won’t continue to burn once the heat source is removed. This gives the wearer valuable escape time and helps to minimize injuries. However, it’s important to remember that flame resistant doesn’t mean fireproof, and all flame-resistant clothing will burn if it’s heated for a long enough period of time.

Clothing that is flame resistant is generally also designed so that it doesn’t break open when heated. Open areas in the fabric would expose the skin to further hazard and potentially increase the severity of injuries.

How Does Flame-Resistant Clothing Work?

Most FR clothing is made from material that is designed to be resilient to heat. Materials like Nomex, Kevlar, and Modacrylic have excellent flame-resistant qualities and are commonly used to make elements of FR garments. Other fabrics, such as cotton, are naturally resistant to flames and can be treated with specialist chemicals to boost their heat resistance and their protective qualities.

Materials that are naturally flame resistant, and those that are treated with specialist chemicals, will behave in broadly the same way. These materials won’t keep burning when the source of combustion is removed, won’t ignite easily, and won’t melt. This last point is very important, as burning, melted fabric can do a lot of damage and cause serious, lasting injuries.

Different flame-resistant materials offer different benefits. What protects a person in one setting might not be suitable for another, so it’s essential professionals and employers always check which products are best for their workplace.

The Limitations of Flame-Resistant Clothing

Flame-resistant clothes, while incredibly important pieces of PPE, are not fireproof. In extreme settings, the clothing will catch fire, and although it won’t melt onto the wearer’s body and will burn for a minimal amount of time, it can still cause serious injuries. It is important to also note that most performance properties of the garment cannot be tested by the user in the field.

The best way to ensure that FR clothing is as safe as possible is to select garments rated to the correct standard. The minimum arc rating for HRC1 is 4, HRC2 is 8, HRC3 is 25, and HRC4 is 40. Layering FR clothing is an effective way of protecting the wearer from potential hazards. If the top layer is burned or damaged, the subsequent layers will help to stop the heat and flames from burning the skin and causing serious injuries.

As flame-resistant clothes are not fireproof, it is essential for professionals to avoid wearing synthetic garments under their FR clothing. Underwear, T-shirts, and other items made from flammable synthetic materials can cause a real hazard and can melt onto the skin, causing serious injury. Melting is possible even if the outer layer of clothing doesn’t catch fire. This is why it’s so important for professionals to wear appropriate clothing from head to toe.

Flame-resistant clothing also won’t protect against explosive forces, projectiles, and other hazards professionals may encounter while at work. If entering a situation where other hazards are expected, professionals need to ensure they’re wearing the correct PPE for the situation. Some of this PPE may also be flame resistant, increasing the protective qualities of the outfit.

Flame-resistant clothing can dramatically reduce and even prevent injuries in case of a flash fire, electrical arc, or explosion. This makes FR clothing an essential piece of PPE for people working in a variety of industries. Investing in good-quality FR clothing, and carefully checking ratings and requirements, can help to keep professionals safe while they’re tackling even the most dangerous of tasks.

FILO Apparel Return Policy:

Refunds will be provided to the original method of payment within 120 days from receipt of item. Items must be returned in their original packaging and include all packaging attachments and tags.

Special order items or items that have been altered in any way will not be acceptable for return unless the return is related to our error. We will consider any items for return that are defective due to materials or craftsmanship.

Items damaged by accident, negligence, improper care, normal wear and tear, or natural breakdown of colors and materials over an extended period of time and use will not be accepted for return.

Mail returns to:
FILO Apparel
1739 Indian Woods Dr.
Neptune Beach, FL 32266

For further assistance, please contact our amazing Customer Service Team!

Phone: 904-762-5035
Hours: M-F 8 A.M - 5 P.M. EST
Email: customerservice@filoapparel.com

 

Limited Warranty:

FILO Apparel products covered by this warranty are warranted to the original owner for twelve months starting from the date specified on the original sales invoice. This warranty applies to all FILO branded products, and excludes products marked as not covered by warranty on the product’s packaging, hangtag, and/or label, in addition to products purchased from an unauthorized seller or dealer.

All FILO branded products will be free from defects in both material and workmanship when used and maintained in accordance with firefighting, rescue, or emergency best practices. FILO Apparel will replace, at our discretion, any garment we determine to be defective in material or workmanship. Only original, unaltered, and unmodified items and workmanship are covered. This warranty does not cover damage caused by accident, negligence, improper care, normal wear and tear, or the natural breakdown of materials and colors over an extended period of time and use.

Products eligible for the limited warranty are covered to the original owner for the period specified above.

Guidelines for Contaminated Clothing

Exposure to various forms of hazardous substances seems to be a continuous battle for firefighters. Even structural fires are frequently becoming hazardous materials events as the burning of synthetic materials and the presence of highly toxic liquids produce a variety of chemical exposure hazards.

Clothing and equipment worn by firefighters when responding to such incidents inevitably becomes contaminated — creating the issue of how to manage the contaminated clothing and equipment. Structural firefighting protective clothing is designed and intended to offer some limited protection from chemical exposure but can still become easily contaminated. Outer shell materials are produced with repellent finishes, which help the clothing shed liquids and reduce the potential for contamination. However, it is the use of a moisture barrier and the design of the garment that work together to keep many liquids from reaching the skin. This does not mean the clothing will not retain some of the liquid it comes into contact with, or more insidiously absorb unknown liquids or gases. 

Firefighters become concerned about contaminated clothing when: 

1. They knowingly are exposed to an unusual substance that is either encountered during the response or discovered some time afterwards 

2. The continued use of the protective clothing items creates rashes or other unexplained health problems issues that may be attributed to some exposure on the fireground. 

Certainly, if during the emergency response, firefighters are splashed with a particular substance or it is discovered that some chemical was released, there is good reason to infer that contamination has occurred. 

Clothing Decontamination 

If the clothing is perceptibly contaminated or construed to be contaminated with a particular substance, then the department must collect information to establish if the clothing can be decontaminated. This is a complicated decision process because there is insufficient data in the industry for measuring the effectiveness of cleaning processes in removing different chemical contaminants. 

There are numerous factors that will affect this decision including:

• The amount of contamination that occurred 
• The type of contaminant and both its chemical and physical characteristics 
• The availability of different decontamination agents or processes that are known to be acceptable for use with firefighter protective clothing. Typically, in-house assistance, such as the organization's or regional hazardous materials team, or even outside expertise, must be contacted for assistance. 

Regrettably, FILO Apparel is not in position to provide sufficient information for these decisions, because of the extensive variety of chemical and biological contamination that can occur. Regardless of the approach used, any contaminated clothing must be isolated and further exposure to the contamination in the clothing must be controlled. This practice involves segregating the clothing from normal storage and placing it in a suitable container, such as a lined or plastic drum, where the clothing can be later decontaminated. As there is no universal decontamination approach that works with all contaminants, consult your department to establish the right process for the identified contaminants. 

There are various chemicals that are so extremely hazardous that the department must make the choice to have the garments condemned. For example, clothing extensively exposed to asbestos fibers should not be reused, since the asbestos poses a known carcinogenic hazard and is not easily removed. In many cases, the recommendation can be made to condemn the clothing because there may be no satisfactory level of residual peanut oil that would be acceptable since the individual firefighter had become highly sensitized. Please consult within your department to answer the question as to whether the clothing remains contaminated or if the clothing has been properly decontaminated requires testing. Testing can be performed on clothing to identify and quantify the levels of contaminants, but it is not as easy as it might seem. Certainly, the simplest approach is when the clothing is contaminated with one or more known substances. ith your customers. Describe a product, share announcements, or welcome customers to your store.

Proper FR Clothing Care: Washing, Repairing & Replacing

Clothing should be stored at room-temperature in a secure location when not in service. Make sure that the location is protected from pests and moisture that could compromise FR qualities. Like all PPE, FR garments should be inspected thoroughly before use to check for defects and damage that could result in injuries. FILO Apparel encourages you to be vigilant when wearing FR clothing, especially if you are going to be around sharp objects or other equipment that could damage it.

Check for the following signs of damage that mean you should remove the garment from service permanently (or temporarily). 

• Thin or torn fabric or everyday wear and abrasion, especially in the joints 
• Any elements like zippers or buttons that no longer function
• Significant alterations not in the original clothing design
• Garments with an improper fit or that are uncomfortable
• Stains or spots that can’t be removed by cleaning

Washing

The flame-resistant fibers supplied by FILO Apparel make the FR-clothing, and it doesn’t matter if those fibers are inherent or treated. The FR properties will last throughout laundering and normal job stress.  FR clothing should be washed properly – it isn’t the same as regular clothing and shouldn’t be laundered with regular clothing.  A home laundry machine can be used to wash FR clothing, but if the clothing is soiled with heavy grime or tough buildup, wash it in an industrial machine.  Avoid exposing your FR clothing to certain workplace chemicals like insect repellant (especially DEET), and when laundering, avoid anti-static or wrinkle-free dryer sheets, fabric softeners, starch, and chlorine bleach.

Repairing

Some types of damage can be easily repaired.  If you deem possible, consider talking to repair kit supply firms for more information on whether a garment can be repaired, as many offer Nomex, Tecasafe and other branded component kits. If a FR garment was involved in a flash fire or other thermal exposure, or is truly beyond repair, only safe choice is to dispose of and replace it.  Arc flash or FR clothing that has been exposed to fire will have its FR qualities compromised.  All PPE will need to be replaced eventually. Make sure that you renew and replace your FR clothing with FILO Apparel’s high-quality product offerings in a timely manner.

Garment Marking Guidelines

Currently there are no OSHA regulations that prohibit the use of name tags, or other emblems on FR clothing, however there are guidelines. If the items are constructed of non-flame resistant materials (such as polyester or rayon), their overall area should be minimized on the garment.  For example, large company logos across the back of the garment should not be applied.  In addition, the use of several logos over the entire garment should be avoided. Please do not write on the UL Certification label or any NFPA Certification mark. Please consult your department for guidelines for location and size of desired emblem additions.