Family Health and Safety 7 Ways to dress safely during a prescribed burn Before conducting a prescribed burn to improve pastures or clear ditches or other areas, make sure everyone working around the fire is outfitted properly to help ensure their safety. By Lisa Foust Prater Lisa Foust Prater Lisa Foust Prater is the Family & Farmstead Editor for Successful Farming, sharing interesting family features, heartfelt editorial columns, and important health and safety information. Her favorite thing about her job is meeting interesting people, learning their stories, and sharing them with our readers.Lisa started her career with Successful Farming magazine in 1999, working primarily for the web team and writing product reviews for the magazine. She later wrote for the Living the Country Life magazine and website and has written and edited several cookbooks and other books for Successful Farming and Living the Country Life. Successful Farming's Editorial Guidelines Published on March 24, 2023 In This Article View All In This Article Headgear Eye protection Shirts and pants Gloves Footwear Face Hair Close Photo: Mitch Kezar Before conducting a prescribed burn to improve pastures or clear ditches or other areas, you need to have a plan, prepare firebreaks, have all the tools you'll need on site, and ensure the weather conditions are just right. It's also important to make sure everyone working around the burn area is outfitted properly to help keep them safe. The experts at Oklahoma State University Extension recommend these items of clothing and personal protective equipment. 1. Headgear Wearing a helmet or other fireproof head covering can protect the wearer from falling embers. Helmets offer the best protection and allow face shields or shrouds to be attached to them. At a minimum, a cap will help protect against embers and keep the hair out of the way. Make sure whatever is worn on the head is non-flammable, will not melt, and is fire and heat resistant. Prescribed prairie burn tips 2. Eye protection Safety glasses or goggles block floating debris and embers from damaging the eyes and also help reduce the impacts of smoke damage. People may be more likely to leave glasses on, and the OSU experts say they provide smoke protection similar to goggles. Whichever you choose, make sure they are heat resistant and non-flammable. Protect your eyes from the dangers of farming 3. Shirts and pants Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants during a burn and keep sleeves and pant legs rolled down. They should be free of rips or holes and made fire resistant or non-flammable material such as 100% cotton, 100% wool, Nomex, Indira, or Tescasafe. Why ranchers burn pasture each year Do not wear any synthetic materials such as nylon near a fire. It can melt or ignite, causing severe burns. One-piece, fire-resistant jumpsuits can be worn over clothing during a burn, but you should still avoid wearing nylon or synthetic materials underneath. 4. Gloves Wear gloves at all times when working a prescribed fire. They should be all leather and free of holes. Choose leather gloves that are chrome tanned (most work gloves) rather than oil tanned, which can shrink in extreme heat and cause burns. Again, do not wear any gloves made all or partially of synthetic material or canvas. 5. Footwear To give you an idea of the best footwear option, most federal agency workers are required to wear 8- to 10-inch tall, all-leather, lace-up boots with Vibram-type soles when working near a fire. If these aren't available, wear what is comfortable to walk a distance over uneven terrain. Make sure all footwear is puncture resistant and made of non-flammable, heat-resistant materials. Do not wear rubber boots or other boots with rubber or synthetic components. Pasture brush control 6. Face protectors Face shields, hoods, and shrouds can be used to keep heat off of your ears, face, and neck when working around a fire. Clear face shields can be attached to a helmet and flipped up when not needed. Hoods cover the ears, hair, and neck. Again, make sure whey are made of fire-resistant and heat-resistant material with no synthetic components. Anyone with facial hair needs to be extra vigilant about wearing face protection. 7. Hair ties Long hair should be tied back and braided if possible it to keep it out of the fire and out of the face. If it is long enough, tucking it inside the back of the shirt provides extra protection. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit