PPE and Clothing Committee
The National Fire Chiefs Council PPE and Clothing Committee is an operational committee established to ensure fire and rescue services collaborate to agree the relevant risk assessments and specifications for all items of PPE, so that they can source modern, fit for purpose PPE and clothing to ensure the safety of wearers in all operational environments and the day-to-day functions of services.
The committee is chaired by Steve Topham, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Assistant Chief Fire Officer Prevention, Protection and Organisational Support. The committee works through a regional network of fire and rescue service representatives and national accredited work groups, such as the Fire Brigades Union, Fire Officers Association, AFSA and Women in the Fire Service. Each representative is responsible for bringing the thoughts and ideas from their region or work group.
Collaborative PPE Project
How we work
Firefighters PPE is classified as complex PPE and as such there is much to be gained from collaboration and standardisation of this important equipment. With standardisation comes a higher level of knowledge and experience, from right across the sector; this knowledge and understanding ensures that wearers safety is always at the forefront of user requirements based upon robust and relevant risk assessment processes.
This collaboration and standardisation also ensures that Fire and Rescue Services maintain compliance with legislation and regulations applicable to PPE; such as, the Health and Safety at Work Act, PPE at Work Regulations and COSHH regulation.
Furthermore standardisation brings with it the ability of greater inter and intra-operability allowing dynamic planning with neighbouring Fire and Rescue Services as well as other blue light agencies as well as built in resilience.
Collaboration assist with sustainability of products by having a circularity ability as the PPE can to be moved from wearer to wearer, region to region (where applicable).
There is, of course, an economic benefit in collaboration where aggregation of demand drives keener pricing. However, this saving can also be used to provide better and more efficient care and maintenance programmes.
Useful documents
Committee Minutes
- Minutes July 2023 – 0.35 mb
- Minutes February 2023 – 0.32 mb
- Minutes 12th September 2022 – 0.35 mb
- Minutes 6th June 2022 – 0.31 mb
- Minutes 8th March 2022 – 0.32 mb
- Minutes 16th November 2021 – 0.3 mb
- Minutes 9th September 2021 – 0.3 mb
- Minutes 28th June 2021 – 0.3 mb
- Minutes 28th April 2021 – 0.32 mb
- Minutes 22nd January 2021 – 0.32 mb
Steve Topham
Chair of NFCC PPE/Clothing Committee
Steve joined Humberside Fire and Rescue Service in 1995 and his first posting was on Red Watch at Cromwell Road fire station in Grimsby.
Full biography
Brett Egan-Briers
Vice-Chair NFCC PPE/Clothing Committee
Brett Egan-Briers is a retired operational fire officer with 35 years’ fire service experience.
Full biography