AFLM covered it pretty well, Blast.

You want a "welding helmet". They even have electronic ones which use some type of LCD technology to darken automatically when the arc is started.

The welding arc is literally as bright as the sun and there is no way you can watch for even a moment without a nice dark filter. There is a ton of UV so cover your skin unless you like sunburn - or use SPF 1,000,000 sun block.

So, minimum PPE, even for an emergency, would he helmet, leather gloves and long sleeves. No synthetics. Helps to wear a baseball cap backwards under the helmet to keep sparks out of your hair. Oh, and no shorts or sandals.