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BODY PIERCINGS??
Here is a subject that I havn't seen discussed on here, and I am curious as to how other departments handle this. As for us my department dosen't allow any piercings, whether male or female, and we are having more and more recruits of both gender show up with them, and some of them have made a fuss about it. Is it just us or do most departments go by this rule we do not even allow earrings.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Christopher on
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I got a piercing but its protected Um huh by my bunker pants!!!!
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I wouldnt go that far I work for a full time paid department and I have 24 Tattoos and a full arm sleve
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Maybe ???? :P
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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Doth thith mean I have to remove my tongue pierthingth? LOL
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Permalink Reply by Jenny Holderby on
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ummm Yeah, those were the "other" body parts I was referring to.
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If you can feel enough heat that you are going to burn yourself with a metal earring, you are TOO DAMN CLOSE to a VERY VERY HOT FIRE!! Other things are going to heat up & melt before you feel it under your hood. Yes it gets pretty warm under a mask but its more because you aren't feeling any air on your skin than the temperature outside, although that too is a factor.
My question is, do you have a NO JEWELRY policy or just no piercings? What about rings? Those are just as if not more dangerous than earrings. Necklaces? Lots of folks wear different medals or gold chains. Do you ask them to remove those as well?
I don't know many firefighters who have their lips or eyebrows pierced. Well yeah I do but the jewelry is usually small & not as noticeable as those I see on campus. (eyebrows & nose) I have been concerned that those with toung piercings might swallow them, but that is their problem in a day or two if they don't choke first. In that case, a finger sweep isn't likely to find the foreign object.
We have had a couple of people who were more adamant about being a firefighter than having body piercings & have taken their jewelry out.
Someone mentioned looking professional. Who decides what LOOKS professional? It is a changing world. In the blue collar world, or grimy collar as it often is, opinions differ on what looks professional. School teachers don't wear dresses and suits anymore. Librarians don't all wear dark skirts, white blouses & sweaters with sensible shoes and their hair in a bun with their little glasses perched on their noses either.
Tats are a different matter. They don't interfere with PPE at all. A person cannot remove them before going to a call. To tell you the truth, no, I didn't even consider what FD policy on tattoos is when I got either one of mine.
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Permalink Reply by Heather on
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Here in the valley, we dont have that problem. But as long as the piercing dont get in the way of doing your job then go ahead. I know several ladies that have their ears pierced mutiple times and thier nose, tongue, etc. I am one of them and mine dont bother me one bit. Besides its called commonsense and i would think that after ripping a piercing out or having it get infected, that a person would learn. But here is too hoping...
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Damnthing,
Yes, I do know about steam burns, from experience. That happened years ago before nomax/pbi, hoods & helmet liners. Before I had much experience and became a safety officer.
With the newer equipment we are a lot safer than we once were. With the new neoprene face masks I can get and keep a seal wearing my glasses that I couldn't get with the old style masks. I now have a hood that keeps my neck & ears from being exposed. Oh yeah, when they get wet, which "should" be rare because of all the other protection we have on they can cause problems. But if I'm THAT close to danger, there are likely other things happening as well and I need to decide quickly what I am going to do about it.
I also know, again from experience, that sometimes we push the line a bit too far and things do happen. I am an advocate for interior attack if it is worth the risk. RISK is what I am talking about. This whole issue is about whether the risk is worth the outcome. Sometimes it isn't and you have to admit to that. We think we are superhuman because we have tools and the knowledge that in most circumstances keep us from being hurt & yes it is worth the risk, most of the time. Safety begins with you. You have to decide for yourself what risk you are willing to take. I can't make that decission for you, your officers can't either. No one else can.
Personally, I am not only concerned with MY department but of the "trends" of fire departments everywhere. Some of those provide mutual aid for my department and they deserve the best people they can get as well. The type of people we are seeing in the fire service in this day are much different than in the past. They have to be or we (particularly VFDs) won't survive.
I am also concerned with recruitment of new people into the fire service and being able to retain the ones we have managed to bring in. The numbers of people coming into the fire service on BOTH sides, career and volunteer are dwindling. We need to think about that as well.
"Hey, I am a physically fit 22 yr old man, I think I could be an asset to a VFD but I need to think about this. They have a zero tolerance policy for drugs & alcohol (I AM TOTALLY FOR THIS ONE). I have to take lots of training. I could get hurt. It involves a lot of time and I have to change my originallity because my piercings don't appeal to the professionalism of a job I am not going to get paid to do."
I am NOT saying or advocating going to a call & looking like a bunch of yahoos & idiots. DOING the job in a professional manner & representing your department in the community is important. TRAINING your people to do the job effectively and efficiently is more important than how they look. When you do a good job the community respects your organization as a whole. Most people who care enough to be firefighters realize this. I understand that some don't but they only need to be educated. Then they can decide if it is worth the effort for them.
You have said yourself that "your world" is an upscale community where firefighters drive BMWs & other luxury cars. They have jobs that support those things and are very likely the class/culture of people who aren't into piercings & body art. In my area, cars like that are rare, we drive pick ups & minivans. In your world you may be able to afford to make demands that I can't afford to choose from. In your world, you may feel its ok to put people in situations that I can't approve in mine. I live in a world where the unemployment rate is 7% throughout the state & closer to 10% in my county. Firefighters come & go faster than I get gray hair because of economics & family situations, risks & education, not to mention personalities. I'm not going to turn down a guy with a nose ring who is genuinely interested in the job and who "could" be the one to pull my fat out of the fryer BECAUSE he has a nose ring.
The world is changing. WE have to change with it and become more diverse in our thinking and in how we do things. We have to decide which battles are worth fighting. Which we can/should win & which won't cause an adverse affect in the long run, say 10yrs from now.
The saying "Two hundred years of tradition unempeeded by progress" doesn't just apply to firefighting tactics.
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Permalink Reply by Edward Phipps,Flipper on
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wildland fire no piercings while on fireline.makes sense in structure also,still conducts heat.cause problems for burn center,(heaven forbid) safety over vanity.
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Just to clear it up. . I became a firefighter in 1985, almost 24 yrs ago. I have been around the FD since I was 3 yrs old and couldn't join in the 70s when I was a teenager but I was "around" doing much the same thing as Jr members do today and was considered Auxiliary before it became acceptable where I am for women to BE firefighters.
I was named Safety Officer for the first time (15 yrs later) in 2000 - 2004 and reassigned the position this year after 4 yrs of . . . "not" being the SO. Yes I do spend more time training, researching & consulting than I spend on a fire scene. I spent much more time in HAZMAT training than in mitigating incidents. Thank goodness!! As a matter of fact I've spent much more time training for incidents than in responding to them period. Don't you?
My first set of gear was a 3/4 length cotton duck coat with roll up boots, fireball gloves & a Chiefton helmet with a 3/4 face shield. It really wasn't much but it was what was acceptable @ the time and I used them. In those days I didn't have a full time job & made 90% of the calls, usually frontline. Sometime during that era was issued a set of 2 piece nomax PPE with a Boulard helmet, boots (that didn't roll up) a hood & gloves. I think I've been issued 2 since then. Without looking @ it I can't tell you if this set is PBI or Kevlar. I did that research & made those recommendations a few years ago & to be honest, I couldn't tell you what is available now. When we get to that stage, we'll go through the process again.
No, I haven't made entry in probably the last 8-10 yrs on frontline attack except in training.
I haven't needed to since we have several well trained, young, strong men to do the job these days but I would imagine that a fire is still hot even now. Having been in fires that were that hot and thankfully coming out with little more than a heat rash is how I know that we often put our selves in situations we really shouldn't be in for a much longer period of time than is necessary.
I have worn a steel bottle with a rubber face piece, that didn't blow fresh air into the mask all the time BEFORE the composit bottles & neoprene mask that is lighter, more comfortable and last longer. I was involved in a couple of fires where the temp outside was nearly 100 degrees & the fire was even hotter. I came away with what seemed to be a sunburn for a very long time even though I was in full PPE but I never burned my ears even though I was wearing earrings @ the time. I have never gotten them caught, not even the cartlidge piercing and if I had, it would have been MY fault no, one elses. When I did have long hair, it took about 3 seconds to get it out of the way, the little magic clip in my coat pocket did the job every time, the hood, mask & helmet on top of it didn't give it a chance to go anywhere after that.
We need more people who are qualified or willing to become qualified, who are willing to take the risks and become good firefighters. We aren't born, we are made. Some of us are a little more unconventional than others. If you don't give people a chance to become good firefighters through leadership, training and experience, your community could be missing out on some good leaders in a few years. I have lost count of the number of people who have started their career as volunteers in my department and moved on to other cities as career firefighters. But before you get to that point, you go through a lot of raw green recruits of whom 30% will not make it past their basic training.
What I am saying is that if you make the rules too tight in areas like piercings and body art you could end up strangling yourself. But if you can afford to do that then more power to you.
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Permalink Reply by Chad King on
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I used to wear an earring but it was getting caught on my nomex. One Time during a hot fire, I could feel the heat so I removed it. I have not put it back in since.
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Permalink Reply by Fire Chick on
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i myself dont have any, but there are a few people that do have them in the station..nothing was ever said to them about it
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