Flame-resistant (FR) clothing is required in a wide range of BC workplaces — oil and gas, utilities, electrical work, petrochemical, and any environment where workers face flash fire or arc flash hazards. The purchase decision gets attention. The laundering program often doesn't — and that's where compliance problems develop quietly.
This article covers what BC employers need to know about FR garment requirements, and why the laundering side of the equation matters more than most safety programs account for.
WorkSafeBC's Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Regulation requires employers to assess workplace hazards and provide appropriate personal protective equipment. For environments with flash fire or arc flash risk, this assessment typically leads to FR clothing requirements.
Industries where FR garments are commonly required in BC include:
The specific garment requirement — whether a flame-resistant shirt, full coverall, or layered system — depends on the risk assessment for the task and work environment.
For FR clothing purchased in Canada, the relevant standards include:
When purchasing FR garments for your workplace, verify that the garment is rated and certified to the applicable standard for your hazard type. An FR shirt that meets the flash fire standard (CAN/CGSB-155.20) is not necessarily rated for arc flash (CSA Z462), and vice versa.
This is the part that catches employers off guard: FR clothing that has been washed incorrectly may look intact but have significantly degraded protective properties. The flame-resistant treatment in FR fabric is damaged by certain common laundry products. Employers who don't have a controlled laundering process for FR garments may be providing PPE that no longer functions as rated.
What degrades FR ratings:
These aren't exotic products — they're standard household laundry items. Any FR program that relies on staff home laundering, without specific training and verification, is relying on workers to consistently avoid the wrong products every single time.
The home laundering risk:
Most households have softener. Most people don't think twice about using it. If your FR program relies on workers laundering their own garments at home, you have no way to verify that the laundering is done to spec. Over time, as garments go through wash cycles with incorrect products, their protective properties degrade — silently, with no visible sign.
For operations with a meaningful number of FR garments in rotation, the practical answer is a commercial laundering program with a dedicated FR protocol.
The protocol should include, at minimum:
This is the protocol The Laundry Brothers follows for all FR garments. We don't use softener, bleach, starch, or any products containing animal fat on FR clothing. If a garment has a manufacturer cleaning spec, we follow it.
If you're building a managed FR laundering program, these are the questions to ask prospective providers:
Beyond the laundering protocol, a few operational practices that employers with FR programs should have in place:
Inspection before each use. Workers should inspect FR garments before putting them on — checking for rips, tears, chemical contamination, or damage that compromises the protective function.
Retirement criteria. FR garments have a finite service life. Define the criteria for retiring a garment: number of wash cycles, visible damage, or manufacturer specifications. A damaged or over-washed FR garment is not a cost-saving measure — it's a liability.
Documentation. For regulated environments, documenting your FR laundering protocol and garment maintenance practices is worth doing. It demonstrates due diligence in the event of a workplace incident.
The Laundry Brothers handles FR coveralls, FR shirts, FR jackets, and other flame-resistant workwear for industrial businesses across Greater Vancouver. Our FR protocol excludes softener, bleach, starch, and animal-fat based products. Learn about our industrial workwear service or get a commercial quote.
