Abstract: A protective hood (1) for protecting an individual from the effects of fire and smoke in a fire related emergency comprises a high temperature resistant plastics material (14) having a layer of titanium (2, 15) on at least a part of its outer surface. Preferably the plastics material has a layer of fluoropolymer (3, 13) on its inner surface and the titanium is sufficiently thick to provide the required heat reflective properties, but is transparent to visible light.