Interviews with many war fighters returning from the battlefield have provided key insights into one of the most dramatic events these men and women share: Having to rescue injured comrades from burning vehicles. During a rescue, the rescuer often has to use their comrade’s garment as a handle to pull them to safety. Alive but incapacitated, their comrade often has most of their clothing already burned away or has it break apart during the extraction process. If the fabric were strong enough (i.e. durable), it could be used as a handle to pull the injured soldier to safety. Bottom line: if durability could be accurately measured, a fabric could be designed to provide FR apparel to assist both war fighters and industrial workers escape fire events.
Current standards provide a minimum baseline of flame-resistant performance for prospective products. But they do not always provide insight to real-life situations.