Firefighters to wear lighter suits aboard ships.

• Author: Williams, Robert H.
• Position: Tech Talk - Brief Article

A new, lighter fire suit designed for sailors assigned to the next generation DD(X) family of ships has been developed by the Navy Clothing and Research Facility at the Army's Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass.

The project in part was driven by the pressing need to employ sailors in firefighting situations, said Harry Winer, a project officer for the First Attack Firesuit, who noted that with the Navy's push to reduce manning on the ships by one-third, it has become imperative to rely on crew members.

"The concept is to get to the fire at an early stage and we expect the damage to be less...