Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Rescue Crews wear cotton overalls treated with flame retardant chemicals, such as Proban, which complies to EN533 and BS6249. The overalls need to be easily identifiable so that Rescue Crew may be readily distinguished, by Marshalls & officials, when attending an incident.

Safety boots, with steel toe caps, are essential. Safety gloves, made from leather, kevlar or similar, are also required. These need to be thick enough to protect against cuts and abrasions whilst being supple enough to allow working with tools and equipment. Latex-free gloves and protective glasses/goggles are carried on the Rescue Unit.

Other personal equipment is optional, although an appropriate hat and waterprofs are advisable. A "tool belt" is a good option. It allows you instant access to some basic tools without the need to return to the Rescue Unit. The tools should be small and light, ideally multi-purpose. Some items frequently carried include:-
Tufcut scissors - ideal for cutting seatbelts or clothing.
Phillips and flat bladed screwdriver(s).
Stanley knife - for cutting windscreen rubbers.
Combination tool - Leatherman, Gerber, Swiss Army Knife or similar may replace several tools on your belt.

Safety helmet

At Normandy Rescue we use the MSA Gallet structural fire-fighting helmet

Application

Very high performance helmet aimed at protecting fire-men against fire, shocks, perforations, smokes, aggressive liquids and chemical projections in during infrastructures fires.

Performances

Conformed to following specifications:
– EN 443/97 Options E2 and/or E3.
– Flame engulfment test.

Fire extinguishers

All Motorsport Rescue units are required to carry;
1 20lb (9Kg) dry powder extinguisher and
1 2 gallon (9 litre) water/AFFF extinguisher.

Basic Fire fighting is incorporated in rescue crew training.