A regulated fire department shall:

1. (1) purchase, provide, and maintain a complete set of protective clothing for all fire protection personnel who would be exposed to hazardous conditions from fire or other emergencies or wher the potential for such exposure exists or provide an adequate clothing allowance and require the fire protection personnel to purchase and maintain a complete set of protective clothing. A complete set of protective clothiing shall consist of garments including bunker coats, bunker pants, boots, gloves, helmets, and protective hoods, worn by fire protection personnel in the course of performing fire-fighting operations;

2. (2) ensure that all protective clothing which are used by fire protection personnel assigned to fire suppression duties comply with the minimum standards of the National Fire Protection Association:

   1. (A) the National Fire Protection Association standard applicable to protective clothing is the standard in effect at the time the entity contracts for new, rebuilt, or used protective clothing;
   2. (B) an entity may continue to use protective clothing in use or contracted for before a change in the National Fire Protection Association standard, unless the commission determines that the protective clothing constitutes an undue risk to the wearer, in which case the commission shall order that the use be discontinued and shall set an appropriate date for compliance with the revised standard;

   3. (C) it has been demonstrated that the product identified as BREATHE-TEXr, manufactured by Aldan Engineered Coated Fabrics, used as a moisture barrier in some protective clothing, may fail unpredictably and allow moisture to pass through the barrier. This product is the subject of recalls by some manufacturers. Pursuant to the Government Code, §419.040(b), the commission has determined that continued use of protective clothing having the moisture barrier identified above constitutes an undue risk to the wearer. Therefore, all regulated fire departments shall:

      1. (i) immediately inspect all protective clothing and identify any protective clothing containing a BREATHE-TEXr moisture barrier;
      2. (ii) immediately and each thirty days thereafter, test all BREATHE-TEXr moisture barriers found and remove from service any protective clothing with a moisture barrier that allows moisture to pass through the barrier. The protective clothing shall only be returned to service when the moisture barrier has been replaced with a moisture barrier which complies with the current applicable NFPA standard;
      3. (iii) no later than January 1, 2002, remove from service all protective clothing containing BREATHE-TEXr moisture barriers without regard to whether or not the moisture barrier has failed.
      4. (iv) maintain records for at least five years, which document compliance with this section.
3. (3) maintain and provide upon request by the commission, a departmental standard operating procedure regarding the use, care and maintenance of protective clothing.

Source Note:The provisions of this §435.1 adopted to be effective November 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 10899; amended to be effective May 23, 1999, 24 TexReg 3863; amended to be effective March 8, 2001, 26 TexReg 2044.