Blog:
Ultimate Glow+: Built to Stay Visible When Conditions Go Dark
Firefighters rarely work in clear, predictable conditions.
A structure can go dark fast. Smoke can fill a room until a firefighter can barely see a hand in front of their face. A crew member may work only a few feet away, but darkness, smoke, obstacles, and movement can still make that firefighter hard to locate.
Roadway scenes bring their own visibility problems. Rain, low light, traffic, poor angles, and moving headlights can all affect what drivers and other responders see.
High-visibility and reflective PPE plays an important role in firefighter safety, but it needs light to work. It helps crews stand out when light reaches the material. But firefighters do not always have the right light, at the right angle, at the right time.
Lakeland Fire + Safety offers Ultimate Glow+ gear and gloves made with Coats Signal Lucence material to help address that visibility gap.
For firefighters, that means one more way to see and be seen when visibility drops and high-visibility and reflective PPE alone may not be enough.
What Is Ultimate Glow+?
Ultimate Glow+ is Lakeland’s photoluminescent visibility technology for select firefighter gear and gloves.
It uses Coats Signal Lucence material, a quick-charging reflective and phosphorescent system for firefighter garments and accessories. The technology charges in minutes and can glow for up to 8 hours.
Ultimate Glow+ does not replace flashlights, thermal imaging cameras, scene lighting, or accountability procedures. It does not turn a firefighter into a spotlight.
Instead, it helps the wearer stand out when the environment gets dark. It gives nearby firefighters another visible reference point during interior operations, search, movement, and low-light response.
As Dan Nelson, Business Development Manager of Coats explained:
“We’re proud to see Lakeland integrating Coats Signal Lucence into their latest gear designs, demonstrating their commitment to continuously advancing firefighter safety through innovative technologies. The afterglow effect of Coats Signal Lucence adds a new layer of safety by enhancing wearer visibility in dark, smoky, and high-risk environments.”
A Third Layer of Visibility
High-visibility color gives firefighters their first layer of visibility, helping crews stand out in daylight and well-lit conditions.
Reflective striping adds a second layer when headlights, flashlights, or scene lights hit the material.
Ultimate Glow+ adds the third layer. When darkness limits color and reflection, its glow visibility gives firefighters another way to stay seen in low-light conditions.
That third layer matters because firefighters move through changing conditions. A call may begin in daylight, shift to interior darkness, move to overhaul, and continue into low-light conditions outside the structure.
A roadway response may involve apparatus lights, headlights, shadows, glare, and rain all at once. Ultimate Glow+ supports visibility across more of those moments. It gives firefighters another way to stay visible when conditions make visibility difficult.
As Kevin Wiltbank, Product Manager at Lakeland Fire + Safety, noted:
“Lakeland turnout gear with Ultimate Glow+ trim, made from Coats Signal Lucence material, provides superior visibility and situational awareness. It gives departments a certified option for turnout gear built around the visibility challenges firefighters face in real conditions.”
Why Situational Awareness Matters Inside a Structure
From 2015-2025 loss of crew integrity was the most frequently cited contributing factor in NIOSH trauma LODD investigations on the fireground. This drives home how critical it is for firefighters to maintain contact when operating in a zero visibility environment.
Inside a structure fire, firefighters rely on more than direct sight.
They track hose lines, wall contact, radio traffic, crew location, thermal conditions, sounds, and movement. They work by feel, training, communication, and discipline.
But visual cues still matter when it comes to maintaining orientation and accountability.
A glowing strip on gear can help a firefighter identify a crew member ahead, beside, or behind them. It can help a team maintain awareness while crawling, searching, or moving through smoke. It can help a firefighter spot another responder in dark conditions where standard reflective trim may not catch light.
That gives firefighters another cue when crew location becomes harder to track.
Why Glow Visibility Matters on Firefighter Gloves
Inside a dark or smoke-filled structure, firefighters use their hands to stay oriented. They crawl, search, follow walls, handle tools, move hose, and feel their way through tight spaces when sight becomes limited.
That makes hand visibility more than a product detail. When firefighters can see the position and movement of their gloves, they get another point of reference during close-range work. That can help them stay oriented, work more confidently, and maintain better awareness during search, movement, and task work.
Lakeland’s Ultimate Glow+ structural firefighting gloves add glow visibility to the fingertips and back of the hand. Both the Ultimate Glow+ PBI Firefighting Gloves and Ultimate Glow+ Illuminated Leather Firefighter Gloves use photoluminescent technology that absorbs UV light and emits a 555-nanometer afterglow in low-light conditions.
The PBI® version pairs glow visibility with PBI® Flex 7™ and an FR Super Grip palm for grip and abrasion performance. The leather version uses premium cowhide and suede leather for firefighters who prefer a leather glove construction.
Both have a 5-minute charge time and 8-plus hours of illumination at 180,000 lux.
For firefighters, that added visibility supports the work happening closest to the ground, where hand placement, tool control, and movement can all affect how confidently they navigate the space. It gives crews a practical visibility feature in the part of the gear they use constantly during interior operations.
Lakeland’s Ultimate Glow+ glove options meet NFPA 1970:2025 requirements. That gives departments a standards-backed option when they evaluate glove visibility, grip, abrasion performance, fit, and movement.
Visibility That Works With the Realities of the Job
Fire departments do not choose PPE based on one feature alone.
They look at protection, certification, comfort, durability, crew acceptance, long-term performance, and how the gear supports the way firefighters actually work.
Ultimate Glow+ fits into that broader decision.
Firefighters work in conditions that change fast. By combining Lakeland firefighter PPE with Coats Signal Lucence material, Ultimate Glow+ gives departments a practical new option for firefighter visibility.
