As the NFPA technical Committee on fire fighters protective clothing worked through the year 2008 revision of NFPA 1851, Standard on Selection, Care and maintenance of Protective ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting, one of the most debated issues continued to be "What is the life expectancy of protective clothing?" Although the committee was not able to reach complete agreement on the answer to this question, there was consensus that structural gear should be retired ten years after the date of manufacture, and that proximity outer shells must be retired five years after the date of manufacture. However, the appendix is expected to contain language explaining that this does not mean all ensemble elements will last or should remain in service for the full 5 or 10 years – just that five year old proximity outer shells and ten year old structural gear must be retired. The standard will provide additional criteria for inspection and retirement as well.

Having explained the mandatory requirements, it has become fairly well accepted in the industry that the average life of a structural turnout suit is three to five years, and that proximity outer shells become worn out even sooner. The industry has come to understand that some components may not last as long as others and for this reason, all layers should be routinely inspect for continued serviceability. It is important to remember, however, that average means some garments have lasted longer, and other garments not as long. Some segments of the fire service have suggested that since the NFPA clothing standard is revised every five years, that should be the maximum time to leave garments in service. While this would ensure that as technology improves, garments would automatically be upgraded to meet new requirements, it could leave the false impression that anything less than five years old is still perfectly compliant.

The reality is that the life span of any protective clothing is entirely dependent upon the type and amount of field use to which each separate garment has been exposed. Contributing factors to this include frequency of maintenance, storage conditions, exposures, and other issues that are beyond the garment manufacturer or material supplier's control. Facilities that specialize in care and cleaning will advise that they have seen clothing that is much older than five years and still in excellent shape; likewise, however, we have seen instances where the first time a garment was worn it was exposed to circumstances that totally destroyed the clothing. Since the purpose of fire fighters clothing is to protect the wearer, if the gear has saved a life or prevented serious injury just once, then it has done its job.