Turnout Gear

[explcdt8]

I am not really up on the fire service, so please bare with me if this question is obvious.


Why do firemen wear their turnout gear to EVERY call. I thought its purpose was to protect against FIRE. I really don't see the point of wearing full turnout gear to a Med. Assist for a fall victim, or to search for a missing child.

Is there a reason why FD's often do

[ngcsubutterbar]

Just a complete layman's guess on my end. Being prepared. They may have to go from something like you're saying to a fire call the next minute. Most of the time the fire department in my town were in 'blue work clothes' and I only saw them in 'turnout' gear when dispatched on a call.

[MDEMT280]

Preparedness. Sometimes, crews even wear their pants around the station to cut down on response times, or while doing maintenance on vehicles, etc., and it's just not practical to change out of them for a call.

Some departments allow members to wear shorts on duty in the summer, with the stipulation that any time they go out in the public eye, they cover up -- i.e., turnout pants.

Turnouts also afford some degree of protection from bloodborne pathogens and other bodily yuck. It's much nicer to get your turnouts covered in blood, rather than your uniform pants.

We also wear either turnouts or traffic vests on vehicle collisions, due to the reflective trim. It improves our visibility and thus our safety on the highway.

[Dan208]

I'm a volunteer firefighter and the main reason that I wear mine is so that I look a little more professional on a call than just wearing sweats or shorts and a t-shirt. I usually don't wear full turnouts, just my bunker pants, unless it's really cold. I think they do offer a small level of protection. I've come back from several calls with blood on me, and I'd rather have had it on my turnouts than my street clothes.

Dan

[AnthonyM83]

Around here, it's mainly for comfort, if your station's captain allows you to do it, though it's not proper day attire. Easy on, easy off, your uniform underneath stays clean. No vomit. No blood.

[Hockey9019]

Old department was if you did not have all your gear on and you got hurt, you wouldn't be covered. Understabably there were exceptions for not having gloves on but you must have them with you. Coat was to be on unless directing traffic in summer. No matter what, pants must stay on (yeah yeah I know what you're all going to say :p)


I wore my pants on a 95+ day for a S&R for a missing kid (Ricky Holland) sighting out in Swartz Creek area in a field. Trust me, it sucked.


Stupid rules though....

[MDEMT280]

I really must disagree with wearing gear on EVERY call. It's helpful in many cases, but in your case Hockey (95+ degree day, all day outside), it doesn't sound like it was necessary. The gear may protect against BBP, brief flame exposure, high heat from a fire, etc., but it doesn't sound like you were encountering any of those issues.

Turnouts are hot, heavy and cumbersome. When most firefighters are going down due to cardiac issues, a policy that mandates wearing full turnouts on every call may create more of a danger than NOT wearing them.

[Hockey9019]

I really must disagree with wearing gear on EVERY call. It's helpful in many cases, but in your case Hockey (95+ degree day, all day outside), it doesn't sound like it was necessary. The gear may protect against BBP, brief flame exposure, high heat from a fire, etc., but it doesn't sound like you were encountering any of those issues.

Turnouts are hot, heavy and cumbersome. When most firefighters are going down due to cardiac issues, a policy that mandates wearing full turnouts on every call may create more of a danger than NOT wearing them.

And you wonder why I don't work for that department anymore ;)

[noelchabanel]

I wear my jacket on every call, unless it's very hot out, but I just keep the pants in the truck for motor vehicle accidents. The turnouts our EMTs have are not for going into a burning building, they only have flash-fire protection. The bonus is that they are light and not all that hot to wear--unless your'e in the back of the truck with an older patient, they are usually freezing no matter how high the heat is set and you can't take off enough clothes to stop sweating :D They protect you from sharp metal and glass on vehicle extrications, protect you from BBP's and also make you easily identifiable to the patient/family/police, etc. at the scene--on volunteer departments we don't sit arround all day wearing class a uniforms, the usual practice is to throw on a job shirt or turnout coat when the pager goes off.

[Petertherock]

On my call/volunteer dept we wear turnout gear on every call except for EMS calls. Some even wear turnout gear on EMS calls if it's cold out. Turnout gear also gives you protection at MVA's against any debris that may be around. In fact, if extrication is going to be needed not only will you be in gear but there will be a charged hose line with 2 FFs with SCBAs on ready to go. The only other exception to the full turnout gear rule would be brush/forest fires. For those situations only the bunker pants have to be worn but long sleeve shirts are encouraged.

[oldenough]

Wow....

I never knew that there was that many folks who wore thier turn out gear on every call. If I ever tried that, my Captain would have handed me my ***.

Our Department works like this:

08:00-17:00 - You are in Class B uniforms. You get a structure fire or TC call, you change.

17:00-2200 - You are in Class C (basically department t-shirts instead of the poly Class B shirt).

22:00-08:00 - Your underwear and a t-shirt. :-) That is the only time I have ever worn turnouts on an EMS call. Just jump in them and go. Not to mention the fact that you look uber cool to the strippers when you respond to a local strip joint with some ol timer having a heart attack. :-)

[noelchabanel]

I am on an all-EMS service, the turnouts I have are made for EMS calls, they aren't heavy like fire turnouts. I only wear the turnout pants on vehicle extrications. Unless we are attending town meeting, or in a parade, or something formal like that, our uniform consists of a department job shirt, polo shirts, t-shirts, etc. I usually wear EMS style pants too, but most people wear jeans. I think the idea is to be less intimidating to the patient, most services around here have moved away from wearing badges and more formal uniforms, except on special occasions.

[mcknis]

As a volunteer, we are required to wear our turnouts during all calls. We only handle fire/rescue so we do not deal with EMS related calls. It is merely just part of our uniform. We are told that if you are going to ride a truck, turnouts are going to be on. Just our SOP.

[mcknis]

Also...ave you ever seen a cop respond in just his pants, or without his sidearm? Probably not, and the same goes for us firefighters as well.

[AnthonyM83]

Also...ave you ever seen a cop respond in just his pants, or without his sidearm? Probably not, and the same goes for us firefighters as well.

A cop never knows when he might get shot at, so he needs his sidearm at every moment. He does not, though, respond with a clip board to every single call.

The above issue concerned FD wearing turnouts on most EMS calls...rarely is there a flash fire on EMS calls that will lead to certain death if not for the turnouts.

Many EMS services around here only put on brush jackets and helmets for freeway calls and traffic collisions. Same with FD. If they do it otherwise it's out of comfort (easier getting dressed) and supposedly against policy, but many captains will allow it.