NFPA-compliant PPE drying and decontamination. Professional maintenance. Expert support for fire departments.
Get a Free ConsultationFire department gear requires specialized care to maintain protective qualities and extend equipment life. HM Commercial Laundry provides NFPA-compliant solutions and expert service to ensure your firefighters have properly maintained, reliable protective equipment.
NFPA-compliant drying. Professional PPE care solution.
Specialized washers for NFPA-compliant PPE cleaning.
Equipment maintenance to ensure consistent availability.
Ensure all equipment meets NFPA standards and requirements.
Train personnel on proper equipment operation and care.
24/7 support for equipment emergencies and repairs.
Fire department turnout-gear laundering isn't optional, and it isn't ordinary commercial laundry. The NFPA 1851 Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting defines requirements for cleaning frequency, cleaning methods, inspection, and documentation. Failure to comply isn't just a regulatory issue — it's a firefighter health and safety issue.
Key NFPA 1851 requirements that drive equipment specification:
UniMac washer-extractors are specifically configured for NFPA 1851 turnout-gear cycles, with controllable temperature limits, verified mechanical action, and documented cycle logging.
NFPA 1851 explicitly prohibits processing turnout gear with general laundry. The reason is contamination — turnout gear absorbs combustion byproducts, hydrocarbons, and (in worst cases) hazardous chemical exposure during structural fires. Cross-contaminating station uniforms or general laundry with this residue is a health risk to anyone wearing the cross-contaminated items. A dedicated washer-extractor for turnout gear is non-negotiable.
HM Commercial Laundry serves career and volunteer fire departments across all 21 NJ counties plus eastern PA, NYC, and Delaware. We understand the operational, NFPA, and budget constraints fire departments work within, and we structure equipment proposals, PM programs, and emergency response to match. For multi-station and district-level installations, we coordinate with the chief, the safety officer, and the equipment officer to ensure the install supports both day-one operations and long-term NFPA compliance.
Yes. NFPA 1851 explicitly requires that turnout gear not be processed in the same machine as station uniforms, household laundry, or other items. Cross-contamination from absorbed combustion byproducts and hazardous chemical exposure is the reason. A dedicated machine is required for compliance.
For most single-station departments, a 60-80 lb capacity washer-extractor handles the typical inventory comfortably. Multi-station or district operations typically need 80-130 lb units with redundancy. We do detailed sizing based on your gear inventory, station count, and incident frequency.
If you have a UniMac or other commercial washer-extractor with programmable controls and verified temperature/mechanical action limits, often yes — we can build NFPA-compliant cycles into the machine's program. If you're using residential or general commercial equipment without these capabilities, replacement is typically required for compliance.
Yes. New equipment installs include site survey, delivery and installation by certified technicians, full operator training for your equipment officer and gear handlers, and documentation handoff for your NFPA 1851 program.
We can help you identify FEMA AFG (Assistance to Firefighters Grant) and similar federal/state grant opportunities that fund turnout-gear cleaning equipment, and we coordinate financing for departments that prefer to spread the capital cost.
Download official UniMac brochures and spec sheets for this product line. For specific delivered-and-installed pricing in NJ, eastern PA, NYC, or Delaware, call HM Commercial Laundry at (732) 681-0500.
