How A Pioneering Fireproof Material Came From Motorsport Tragedy

One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the development of workplace safety and trade workwear is that every development comes as a result of an exceptionally unfortunate tragedy, and the brave and determined campaigners who made it their mission to ensure that such a tragedy could not happen again.

This was very much the case for the development of advanced fireproof materials such as the flame-resistant fabric Nomex, developed by chemical company DuPont and commonly used in the production of racing suits and fireproof layers used by firefighters.

These were inspired by three deaths in the space of a single week in May of 1964.

The first was at the World 600 NASCAR motor race in Charlotte, North Carolina. Just seven laps into the 600-mile race, Edward “Fireball” Roberts crashed his racing car trying to avoid a collision between veteran drivers Junior Johnson and Ned Jerrett.

His car violently hit the wall and caught fire after flipping over, which despite the rapid response of fellow drivers and race marshals led to him suffering burns across 80 per cent of his body, and despite hopes that he could make it, would die a month later from sepsis and pneumonia brought on by the ordeal.

This might have been enough to lead to a major change in an industry where even four years later safety was so lax that a car made from magnesium made it onto the grid. However a major incident six days later made certain to put safety at the front of everyone’s minds.

On the 30th May 1964, at the annual Indianapolis 500 race, on just its second lap, Dave MacDonald spun, hit the inside wall and caught fire, causing a crash that took out seven other cars and causing an explosive incident between MacDonald’s stricken car and the car of Eddie Sachs.

Mr Sachs died on impact, whilst Mr Macdonald would die shortly after arriving at a hospital.

The public and exceptionally shocking nature of the crash led to sudden and immediate changes, including the adoption of fireproof race suits made from the then-new material Nomex, the requirement of a secure fuel cell to reduce the risk of explosive crashes and a ban on gasoline, which lasted until 2012.