Making sense of Flame Resistant Clothing
Flame Resistant Clothing, or FRC, is one of the most important purchases that you will ever make in relation to your job. Having the correct FRC can help save your life, and different industries will require different levels of FRC. Knowing what you are required to have, as well as understanding what it means, is vital.
It seems daunting, but it’s actually fairly simple to pick the correct clothing, as long as you know what you need. There are two ratings that you are going to be looking for when purchasing any flame resistant work wear: HRC and APTV. We’ll start with HRC and explain what it means below:
HRC stands for Hazard Risk Category and is assigned a level of between 0 (lowest protection) and 4 (highest protection). The value that you need depends on the task that you are using it for, and will be provided by your employer.
APTV stands for Arc Thermal Performance Value and is a rating that indicates the amount of protection offered by the garment. Typically, the heavier the weight of the fabric itself, the higher the APTV will be. APTV is measured in calories/centimeter squared (cal/cm2).
Once you know the HRC level and APTV rating you need, it’s easy to pick out the correct FRC. Do remember though, that just like all clothing is made different, flame resistant clothing can also vary from manufacture to manufacture. Carhartt always receives top marks for it’s extensive line of flame resistant clothing – both for the safety aspects and for durability and comfort. After you have the ratings you need in hand, head over to our Carhartt Flame Resistant Clothing section of our website and start shopping.