Provision of Firefighter Turnout Gear

Agency:	Gwinnett County
State:	Georgia
Type of Government:	State & Local
NAICS Category:	423990 - Other Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers
Posted Date:	Aug 28, 2026
Due Date:	Oct 7, 2026
Solicitation No:	RP025-26 INV
Original Source:	Please Login to View Page
Contact information:	Please Login to View Page
Bid Documents:	Please Login to View Page

Description

RP025-26 INV

Buyer Contact : Diana.Turner@GwinnettCounty.com

Opening Date : 10/07/2026 03:00 PM EST

Virtual Bid Opening

Attachment Preview

August 28, 2026

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RP025-26

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners is soliciting competitive sealed proposals from qualified suppliers

RfPo0r15t-h2e4 IPnvro-vvi2s-ion of Firefighter Turnout Gear on an Annual Contract with four (4) options to renew for the

FirDeecpoamrmtmenetnst&oDf WFiRrecaomndmeEnmtse.drgoecxncy Services.

Proposals must be returned in a sealed container marked on the outside with the Request for Proposal number

and Company Name. Proposals will be received until 2:50 P.M. local time on October 7, 2026, at the Gwinnett

County Financial Services - Purchasing Division – 2nd Floor, 75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046. Any

proposal received after this date and time will not be accepted. Proposals will be publicly opened and only names

of submitting suppliers will be read at 3:00 P.M. The opening will be virtual ONLY. To access the opening virtually,

click here or dial +1 323-676-6170 and enter conference ID 915 995 558#. A list of suppliers submitting proposals

will be available the following business day on our website www.gwinnettcounty.com.

A pre-proposal conference is scheduled for 10:00 A.M. local time on September 23, 2026, at Gwinnett County

Fire and Emergency Services Headquarters, 408 Hurricane Shoals Road, Lawrenceville, GA 30046. Fittings will

be conducted at pre-proposal conference. All suppliers are urged to attend. Questions regarding proposals

should be directed to Diana Turner, Purchasing Associate II, at Diana.Turner@GwinnettCounty.com no later than

3:00 P.M. local time on September 28, 2026. Proposals are legal and binding upon the supplier when submitted.

One (1) unbound single-sided original, five (5) exact bound copies, and one (1) electronic copy on a USB flash

drive should be submitted.

A fitting session will be conducted following the pre-proposal conference. Further information and instructions

are included within the specifications.

Gwinnett County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to its programs or

activities. Any requests for reasonable accommodations required by individuals to fully participate in any open

meeting, program or activity of Gwinnett County Government should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at the

Gwinnett County Justice and Administration Center, 770-822-8165.

The written proposal documents supersede any verbal or written prior communications between the parties.

Selection criteria are outlined in the request for proposal documents. Gwinnett County reserves the right to

reject any or all proposals, to waive technicalities, and to make an award deemed in its best interest.

Award notification will be posted after award on the County website, www.gwinnettcounty.com, and suppliers

submitting a proposal will be notified via email.

We look forward to your proposal and appreciate your interest in Gwinnett County.

Diana Turner

Purchasing Associate II

The following pages should be returned as part of your proposal package:

Delivery ARO Response, Pages 17-18

Supplier Information, Page 19

References, Page 20

Code of Ethics, Page 26

Contractor Affidavit and Agreement, Page 27

RP025-26

Page 2

GENERAL

A. Scope

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners (The County) is seeking proposals from qualified

suppliers for the provision of protective clothing worn by Firefighters engaged in fire suppression

activities. It is the intent of this Request for Proposal (RFP) to select a supplier that delivers the

best overall value to The County, considering the evaluation factors in this RFP by demonstrating

best performance, guaranteed availability and delivery, customer service excellence,

accountability, knowledge, experience and cost. The protective clothing will be evaluated by users

in live-fire scenarios and other activities related to job tasks detailed in attachment A.

B. Adherence to Specifications

The specifications set forth in this proposal are not designed to be restrictive. However, these

specifications should be used to guide suppliers through the process of selecting and proposing

turnout gear that will best suit the County needs. Statements using “must,” “will,” or “shall” are

non-negotiable and failure to comply with these requirements may result in a low score given in

the “Understanding and Adherence to Specifications” portion of scoring criteria. All exceptions to

specifications must be clearly spelled out in the proposal submission.

II. PRICING

A. Prices shall remain firm for 12 months after award. This contract has four (4) optional renewals.

Renewal of this contract will be based on the following: 1) terms, conditions and pricing remain

the same (or as indicated in the original pricing schedule); 2) service is satisfactory; 3) both

parties are willing to renew; and 4) Board of Commissioners’ approval, if required.

III. AWARD

A. Recommendation to award the highest scoring supplier will be submitted to the Gwinnett County

Board of Commissioners at the completion of the evaluation process. Contract to begin upon

award.

B. Awarded supplier must deliver a complete fitter line by the contract effective date to the user

department. Fitter line must be clearly marked with “RP025-26 Fitter Line” and include a packing

slip of garments in the shipment. Shipped to:

Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services

450 Hosea Rd

Lawrenceville GA 30046

C. Requirements of Successful Supplier After Award

1. It is the intention of the County to place an order upon award of this contract. This gear is

required to replace the County’s safety stock and replacement of our fitter line and

recruits; therefore, the successful supplier will be required to provide gear no more than

30 days after receipt of the purchase order. The purchase order will be for gear with

common sizes and sizes will be specified at the time of order.

2. The manufacturer should have in place a computer-maintained traceability program that

provides for the assignment of a production control number for each garment. The

traceability program should be capable of tracing the garment through production, from

the bolts of cloth used in all three layers of the garment composite construction, to the

assignment of the garment to the individual firefighter. This production control number

should be visibly located on the garment label and on other protected areas of garment.

RP025-26

Page 3

3. To ensure a perfect fit, sizing should be based on actual measurements taken of the

firefighter by a trained measurement specialist, or sizing try-ons, or both. Fittings/sizing

measurements are to be provided during normal business hours of 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.,

Monday-Friday at designated location (Resource Management Warehouse: 450 Hosea Rd,

Lawrenceville GA 30046 or Fire Academy: 3608 Braselton Hwy, Dacula, GA 30019). The

successful supplier should be responsible for measuring Gwinnett County employees for

proper fit as required per department and maintain record for each employee fitted

regardless of order quantity or total price. The successful supplier should also train

Resource Management personnel in the proper method for measuring Gwinnett County

employees for proper fit as required per department.

IV. PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

A. Suppliers are invited to submit their latest design that meets or exceeds these specifications.

B. Suppliers may submit more than one product, however suppliers must have a separate proposal

for each product proposed addressing criteria requested under Section VI of the RFP “Preparation

of Proposals”. All samples submitted are at NO cost to The County. Samples must be submitted

for each product proposed.

V. FITTINGS/SAMPLES

A. Suppliers will provide samples according to sizing obtained at the pre-proposal conference.

These samples will undergo tests as per Attachment A.

B. Samples must be provided at no cost and must be sized specifically to the employee.

C. The samples will be evaluated in real-life scenarios and may be damaged.

D. Samples may be returned at the Supplier’s expense after the evaluation is completed or the

supplier has been eliminated from the process.

E. The fittings process for the nine (9) samples will be conducted directly following the pre-proposal

conference. If suppliers are unable to attend the pre-proposal conference, contact Diana Turner

to schedule fittings. Fittings should be completed by September 25, 2026.

F. The wear test will be done as a blind product test. Evaluators will be assigned an identifying

number. Short-listed suppliers moving on to phase 2 will be assigned an alphabet letter when

wear test sets are requested. The suppliers are to cover the NFPA label with a piece of fabric

made of the same liner material labeled with the supplier alphabet assignment and assigned

evaluator number.

G. Short-listed proposers have 6 weeks from the date of request to deliver the nine (9) samples to

Gwinnett County Fire & Emergency Services. Samples are to be sent separately and directly to:

Gwinnett County Fire & Emergency Services

ATTN: Rob Medina

450 Hosea Road

Lawrenceville, GA 30046.

Failure to deliver the nine (9) samples by the close of business on the dates specified in the

request may be cause for rejection of proposal.

H. All samples must be submitted in sealed boxes clearly marked with the RP#, company name, and

RP025-26

Page 4

“SAMPLES”.

I. All samples will be subject to performance exercise testing in conjunction with the use of SCBA,

boots, helmets and gloves as may be required.

J. Samples submitted for evaluation shall represent what the supplier is offering to The County.

VI. PREPARATION OF PROPOSALS

Cover Letter

At the beginning of the proposal, provide a cover letter to include description of the supplier’s history,

and the manufacturer’s facility and scope of operations

PHASE 1: TECHNICAL EVALUATION

A. Delivery Terms

The manufacturer should provide a user information guide for the garments, which complies with

user information requirements of NFPA 1970 Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural

and Proximity Firefighting, Work Apparel, Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus

(SCBA) for Emergency Services, and Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS) 2025 Edition

(hereinafter referred to as NFPA 1970). Topics should include, but not necessarily be limited to:

pre-use information, preparation for use, inspection frequency and details, don/doff, use

consistent with NFPA 1500 Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety, Health, and

Wellness Program 2021 Edition (hereinafter referred to as NFPA 1500) and NFPA 1851, Standard

on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Structural Fire Fighting Protective Ensembles, 2020 Edition

(hereinafter referred to as NFPA 1851), maintenance and cleaning, and retirement and disposal

criteria and considerations. This document should be packaged with each garment along with a

specification summary sheet describing garment custom options, sizing and production details.

Supplier shall state the Delivery ARO in the format below for the given ordering scenarios. Given

quantities are estimates and could change based on County needs and the allocation/availability

of funds. Please specify whether or not Delivery ARO will change based on the scenario and

provide additional information as needed. Suppliers may include additional sheets in the proposal

submission to cover this information.

Approximately 25 recruits ordered twice per

year

Delivery ARO:

Approximately 90 second sets of gear ordered

once at the beginning of the calendar year

Delivery

ARO:

Approximately 100 sets of gear to replace

expirations ordered once at the beginning of Delivery ARO:

the calendar year

Replacement sets as needed

Delivery ARO:

B. References

Suppliers should include a list of references as part of the proposal submission. Suppliers are

required to demonstrate successful performance of the proposed turnout gear and customer

service level by submitting references from three (3) user departments during the past three (3)

years. The supplier should provide references from user departments of similar size, climates,

with comparable number of employees, similar call type and volume.

Name and contact numbers must be for a liaison within the respected Fire Department who has

RP025-26

Page 5

an intimate working knowledge of the performance and wear/tear of the proposed turnout gear.

References should be provided as part of the initial proposal. Reference checks are part of the

technical evaluation for all suppliers. Please ensure references are prepared to respond timely.

C. Understanding and Adherence to Specifications

Include a section in the proposal that demonstrates the supplier’s understanding of the basic

scope of services and performance requirements stated in the RFP. Include in this section

information on service and FOB delivery terms.

Scoring the composite makeup of PPE gear and the level of thermal insulation provided will be

based on the adherence to specs and the overwhelming factor of safety. It is the County’s

preference that no materials that may contribute to a loss of protective performance over time

and/or after exposure to heat, sweat, etc., should not be used in the construction of the PPE

garment composite.

Submit a comprehensive and detailed description of the proposed product. Include

manufacturing materials, procedures, testing, specifications, diagram, drawings and/or photos.

Describe your company’s process for fitting and sizing throughout the contract period. Any

exception or variation in construction, materials, performance, testing, or items of equipment

between this specification and the proposal shall be detailed and submitted on a separate

sheet(s) along with the proposal in sequence, citing page and item number. Suppliers must

explain in detail and with full supporting data how the proposed deviation meets or exceeds the

specifications.

1. Gear Misc.

i. Coat and pants shall be manufactured by the same company to ensure uniformity,

complete protection and compatibility. NO EXCEPTIONS.

ii. The composite sizing available will be scored. Include the available size increments

for both men and women and detail the percentage of gradation for the proposed

product.

iii. This request for proposal defines the minimum requirements for blood borne

pathogen resistant (BPR) firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) to provide

limited protection to fire fighters against adverse environmental effects during

structural firefighting operations and certain other emergency operations where there

is a threat of fire or where certain physical hazards are likely to be encountered, such

as during non-fire-related rescue operations, emergency medical operations, and

victim extraction, as defined by NFPA 1970. In the absence of comment on a particular

point, industry standard practice should be presumed to prevail. Workmanship and

material should be first quality throughout. Supplier must provide documentation for

minimum THL and TPP in Coat and Pants and minimum CCHR in knees and shoulders.

In the absence of comment to a specific point, the supplier is required to furnish a

wholly compliant garment.

iv. The protective gear as a set (coat & pant) shall meet the NFPA 1970. Supplier should

include in the response the THL and TPP overall composite of the proposed gear.

v. Protective gear shall meet NFPA 1970 Cleaning Shrinkage Resistance Test. Supplier

should include in the response the Cleaning Shrinkage Resistance Test results.

This page summarizes the opportunity, including an overview and a preview of the attached documents.

Get Government Bids Like This by Email Receive daily bid alerts that match your keywords, business categories, and target regions.

View Sample Report Start Free Trial

Provision of Firefighter Turnout Gear

Description

Attachment Preview

See Also