UNSPSC 46181508: Fire retardant apparel

UNSPSC 46181508 Fire retardant apparel is a Commodity code that encompasses structural and wildland firefighting protective clothing, including turnout coats and pants, helmets, gloves, boots, and related ensemble components that meet NFPA 1970 or 1971 standards. State and local governments procure these items on an as-needed basis to outfit firefighting personnel across municipal fire departments, county fire-rescue operations, and regional fire services. Recent solicitations show active procurement of complete structural firefighting ensembles (coats, pants, helmets, gloves, footwear) with specifications tied to NFPA thermal protective performance and heat-loss minimums, wildland firefighting gear through authorized distributors, and moisture-barrier fabrics for turnout-coat construction. Issuing bodies include city fire departments, county commissioners, county fire-rescue departments, regional purchasing councils, and state forestry agencies. Fire departments procure through both individual municipal RFPs and cooperative-purchasing vehicles that serve multiple member fire companies simultaneously. The mix spans large jurisdictions (Hillsborough County, Columbus Consolidated Government, Gwinnett County), mid-sized cities (Phoenix, Fayetteville, Santa Monica), and smaller county departments (Brevard County, Polk County, Pasco County).

Recent activity concentrates in Florida, Georgia, Connecticut, and California. Representative opportunities include Brevard County Board of County Commissioners' sole-source procurement of CrewBoss wildland firefighting protective gear through FIRE-TEC1 Inc. (response due May 22, 2026); Gwinnett County's competitive sealed proposals for firefighter turnout gear with NFPA 1970 compliance and a three-phase evaluation including nine-person live-fire wear testing (proposals due October 7, 2026); Hillsborough County's ITB for bunker-gear cleaning, testing, and maintenance of approximately 2,800 sets under NFPA 1851 and 1971 standards with an estimated two-year contract value of $1,156,137 (bids due September 10, 2026); and Capitol Region Purchasing Council's cooperative-purchasing RFB for structural firefighting ensembles meeting NFPA 1971 served to multiple Hartford County and statewide member fire companies (bids due October 28, 2026). CAL FIRE issued an RFI on moisture-barrier fabrics for structural firefighting turnout coats and pants (responses due October 28, 2026) to inform future procurement specifications. Pasco County solicited as-needed rubber-insulated felt firefighting boots with NFPA 1971, 1992, and 1500 compliance (quotes due June 2, 2026).