University of Idaho Prof Wants to Improve Firefighting Gear

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — A researcher at the University of Idaho wants to redesign the standard-issue clothing for wildland firefighting. The Lewiston Tribune reports that School of Family and Consumer Sciences director Sonya S. Meyer says ill-fitting clothing can affect safety and efficiency on the fire line.

Meyer started the redesign project in 2012, when she was a professor at the University of Wyoming. Since then, researchers at several universities across the country have spent three years studying how the traditional yellow shirts and cargo-style pants fit firefighters, especially seasonal crew members.

Meyer's research has focused mainly on the structure of the pants and shirts and learning about the challenges and discomforts experienced by firefighters. The idea came to her after a woman told her about abrasions caused by ill-fitting gear.