Table 9 Actionable directives that manufacturers could integrate, per manufacturer communications

1

Add more relevant body measures to size women into coats/pants

Not enough body measures to appropriately size/fit women into coats/pants

2

Add clear body measurement definitions

Currently, it is not always clear where body measurements should be taken to size women into products

3

Create boot sizing charts with foot measurement or Brannock device conversions

None of the manufacturers researched in this study provided online boot size charts with foot measurements or Brannock device conversions for firefighters to size themselves

4

Provide real and separate women’s boot sizes per NFPA requirements

One manufacturer (Honeywell) in this study did not post women’s-only boot sizes online

5

Provide boot and glove size consistency across manufacturers and models

It is difficult and confusing to select boots and sizes within and across manufacturers as they are inconsistent

6

Provide women’s specific glove sizing

In firefighting, the hands are important for operating equipment. Keeping them safe with appropriately fitting gloves ensures the female firefighter can work to their maximum potential

7

Create online glove sizing charts with the required NFPA hand measurements (Additional file 2: Appendix B and Additional file 3: Appendix C)

None of the manufacturers researched in this study provided online glove size charts

8

Conduct anthropometric studies to understand the female firefighter-specific body, foot/calf, and hand measures (static and dynamic)

Current measures used to make female firefighters turnout gear are not based upon female firefighters' bodies

9

Conduct wear tests (static and dynamic) with existing coat/pant, boot, and glove products to understand current size/fit challenges

Adoption of female-specific turnout coats and pants is less than 50%. Almost 50% of the women who participated in this study reported physical fit issues with their fire boots. About 45% of the female participants reported physical fit issues with their fire gloves. Wear tests using existing products can be an efficient way to understand issues before new product development

10

Develop better training modules and tools for manufacturer representatives to understand the unique nuances of sizing/fitting the female body into PPE

Satisfaction of turnout product sizing and fit for women is poor. Researchers have cited issues with the size/fit of female firefighters' PPE (Table 1)