The Verified Independent Service Providers Association (VISPA) was created to provide fire departments and other emergency response organizations with an educational resource on the care and maintenance of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).  Your PPE is your first line of defense and must provide you sufficient protection during its service life.  Our goal is to help you establish good practices to reduce the safety risks and potential health risks associated with poorly maintained, contaminated and damaged PPE. 

There is increasing awareness among emergency response organizations that soiled or contaminated PPE can be a hazard to the user.  Also due to the nature of emergency response, PPE can be damaged at the incident scene which could affect its ability to protect.  Although the protective qualities of all PPE are reduced over time, there is much you can do to optimize its performance and keep it safe for use.  It begins with instilling good personal habits with your individual emergency responders and ends with your organization’s responsibility for ensuring all PPE is in safe operable condition.

NFPA 1851 Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting and NFPA 1855 Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Technical Rescue Incidents are examples of industry standards that provide guidelines for establishing organizational programs to keep PPE in safe, usable condition.  Members of VISPA are third party verified as compliant to NFPA 1851 or NFPA 1851 and NFPA 1855.  We are a knowledge base and resource for establishing and implementing your organization’s PPE care and maintenance program.