Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is essential to the safety of firefighters. Departments and firefighters should establish a compliant selection, care, and maintenance program for PPE. The problem was the Winston-Salem Fire Department did not meet all of the (PPE) requirements associated with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard 1851. The purpose of the research was to determine to what extent fire departments meet all of the requirements associated with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard 1851. The descriptive research methodology was used to answer the following questions: (a) To what extent do departments comply with NFPA 1851? (b) What sections of NFPA 1851 are most important for fire departments? (c) How do departments meet the maintenance requirement of NFPA 1851? (d) To what extent do departments conduct an advanced inspection of all PPE ensembles elements? (e) What concerns do departments have with the 10-year PPE replacement requirement's ability to reduce safety risks and potential health risks for firefighters? The procedures included interviews with representatives from bunker gear manufacturers, and a telephone and an on-line survey of professionals in fire departments throughout the state and country. Articles were collected from the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the internet, journals, and trade magazines to support the research. The results showed that fire departments comply with the selection, care, and maintenance policy, mandatory retirement of all I0-year-old PPE, routine cleaning and inspection, annual advanced cleaning and inspections, repairs and service by an Independent Service Provider (ISP), and record keeping requirements in NFPA 1851. Key recommendations included developing a formal selection, care, and maintenance (SCAM) program policy, providing advanced inspections and annual cleaning for PPE via an Independent Service Provider, purchasing a second set of bunker gear, and upgrading the fire department's PPE record keeping resources.