We’ve all been burned before; we all know it’s not a pleasant experience. Let the minor burns we’ve encountered in our lives serve as a reminder of how life-altering a severe burn can be. Decades of workplace burn injury statistics and numerous stories and pleas from burn victims underscore the importance of taking heat hazards seriously.

Assuming you’re here because you’re taking this seriously and eager to learn more about burn prevention, let’s dive in. The best burn treatment is prevention, and personal protective equipment (PPE) plays a crucial role. Among various types of burn prevention PPE, today we’ll focus on heat-resistant gloves.

The first thing to keep in mind when considering heat-resistant gloves is that they aren’t truly heatproof. No such thing exists. Heat-resistant gloves provide protection up to a certain point, and that point is determined by their rating. We’ll delve into ratings shortly.

Heat-resistant doesn’t mean fire-resistant. While some heat-resistant gloves are fire-resistant, many are not. Always review product information and ratings to confirm whether your gloves also offer fire resistance.

So, what exactly are heat-resistant gloves? These are gloves designed to help protect you from burns and mitigate the severity of a burn if it cannot be avoided. None of us start work with the intention of getting burned, but accidents happen. Having the right PPE can make a significant difference, reducing a 2nd-degree burn to a less severe 1st-degree burn.

One key lesson about PPE is never to assume anything. Always check the ratings and ensure your gear is equipped to handle the hazards you’ll face. Don’t assume a pair of gloves are heat-resistant simply because they look like heat-resistant gloves. Heat-resistant gloves can come in various styles, including welding gloves, which might come to mind first, but you can also find regular-looking work gloves with heat-resistance ratings.

Flame and fire – Are you working with open flames or anything requiring flame-resistant (FR) PPE?

You don’t have to choose just one of these options. Often, workers are exposed to multiple hazards simultaneously, or perhaps you just need a versatile pair of gloves for various tasks.

Once you’ve identified your hazards, determine the level of each hazard. When we refer to level, we’re talking about temperature. If you have a pair of gloves rated to protect up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit, and you pick up a metal rod heated to 400 degrees, you will get burned. Figure out the maximum temperatures for all the hazards you’ll encounter.

Finally, consider any additional features or limitations required. For instance, if you’re TIG welding, you need heat protection along with dexterity. If you’re working with sharp objects, you may need cut resistance alongside heat protection. Factor in all the considerations and ensure you’re searching for the right pair of gloves.

With all that information in hand, finding gloves that meet those specifications becomes straightforward, especially if you’re looking for gloves that comply with the EN407 standard. Simply identify the individual protection levels you need and look for a glove with an EN 407 badge that matches.

When seeking the right pair of heat-resistant gloves, the EN407 standard proves invaluable. This small badge icon provides a wealth of useful information. However, if you’re unfamiliar with it, the badge can be quite confusing.

Let’s break it down. There are two distinct EN407 badge icons. If the icon features a flame, it indicates that the gloves are flame-resistant. Any FR product requires understanding that FR doesn’t mean fireproof. Instead, it means the material is designed to self-extinguish faster than traditional materials and helps prevent the spread of flames. The gloves can still ignite, and you can still get burned, but the FR protection will lessen the severity of the burn.

If the badge displays a set of curved lines, it means the glove hasn’t been rated for flame resistance and is only rated for non-flame heat resistance.

Flame resistance is the first digit. As previously mentioned, even if the gloves are rated as a four, it doesn’t mean the gloves are fireproof. It means they will effectively limit the spread of flames and quickly self-extinguish.

For example, a glove material can be tested by placing it in contact with a surface pre-heated to 350 degrees Celsius. After 15 seconds, if the inside surface of the glove material does not increase by 50 degrees Celsius, that glove will be awarded a level three for contact heat.

Convective heat is the third digit under the badge. For this test, the front and back of the glove are exposed to heat from an open flame. The inside temperature of the glove is monitored and timed on how long it takes to shift 24 degrees Celsius.

• If it takes four seconds for the glove interior to increase by 24°C, the glove is awarded a level one.
• More than seven seconds awards a level two.
• More than 10 seconds awards a level three.
• And more than 18 seconds awards a level four for convective heat protection.

Under the badge are six digits. Each digit represents a different testing standard for heat protection. All test standards under EN407 are rated between one and four, with four being the best and X representing "no rating."

Radiant heat is the fourth digit. This test is similar to convective, but with the radiant heat test, only the back of the glove is tested against the heat from a radiant source rather than an open flame.

Similarly, the internal temperature of the glove is monitored and timed on how long it takes to shift 24 degrees Celsius.

• If it takes seven seconds for the glove interior to increase by 24°C, the glove is awarded a level one.
• More than 20 seconds awards a level two.
• More than 50 seconds awards a level three.
• And more than 1 minute and 35 seconds awards a level four for convective heat protection.

Small Splashes of Molten Metal Resistance is the fifth digit. In this test, small droplets of molten metal are dripped onto a glove sample. The temperature of the opposite side of the sample is monitored. The number of droplets is counted in the amount of time it takes the opposite side to increase by 40 degrees Celsius.

• A total of 10 droplets before the temperature rises by 40°C awards a level one.
• Fifteen droplets awards a level two.
• Twenty-five droplets awards a level three.
• And 35 droplets awards a level four resistance to small splashes of molten metal.

Large Splashes of Molten Metal Resistance is the sixth and final digit. In this test, a material that mimics human skin is placed under a glove sample. A measured amount of molten metal is poured onto the sample. The higher the amount the glove can resist without damaging the skin, the higher the rating it will receive.

• Resisting 30 grams of poured molten metal awards a level one rating.
• Sixty grams is level two.
• One hundred twenty grams is level three.
• And protecting the synthetic skin from 200 grams of poured molten metal awards a level four.

Remember, not all gloves will be rated in all of these categories, and you’ll often see ratings that look like this, X2XXXX. This means the glove was only tested/rated for contact heat.

With this knowledge, shopping for gloves becomes much easier. Once you assess the hazard type and hazard level, all you need to do is find a pair of gloves with an EN407 rating that matches.

PowerPak offers a wide variety of work gloves that offer protection beyond the EN 407 standard. Visit our website to explore our selection.