Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dave, NB 9 on December 5, 2008 at 6:08am

Thanks for your thoughts on this....... Keep them coming. Have a Great week!

Permalink Reply by Chief 29 on January 27, 2009 at 11:39am

My company does not have any issues with facial hair and scba. Those that wear them are clean shaving with the exception of during hunting season and those few hunters know they are not to wear scba while they have facial hair.

Permalink Reply by Tom Ricotta on January 30, 2009 at 6:54pm

Several of the Officers that have been in charge of the organizations I have belonged to struggled with topic, But the new chief we have is a real prick about it.........
Did you by chance check out OSHA's interpretations to the above listed paragraphs in the standard. If you take another look you will see that some such as 1910.134(g)(i) are highlighted in blue, if you click on them you can read OSHA correspondences.
A quote from one:
"While the standard does not ban beards per se, it does require employers to ensure that bearded employees who are required to wear tight-fitting facepieces trim their beards so that they do not interfere with the sealing surface of the respirator or are not so large that they could interfere with valve function."
Food for thought....

Permalink Reply by Dave, NB 9 on January 30, 2009 at 7:01pm

But the new chief we have is a real prick about it ??

Permalink Reply by Tom Ricotta on January 31, 2009 at 8:44am

Sorry had to throw that in there.... Chief
Seriously though, The letters of interpretation are worth a read. There is even one that explains that OSHA doesn't allow any wiggle room on this. An employee for instance can not sign a waiver or a release to wear a mask with a beard... So for those who tell you "But i can get a tight seal with my beard" they are not taking there life / heath in there own hands, it sounds to me that it is still in the hands and responsibility of the employer....

Permalink Reply by Don Vuletic on January 31, 2009 at 10:54pm

Our department has a policy on no facial hair. We also added a policy on facial ear rings. No ear rings are allowed on any part of the head or ears. We had a incident when a face piece got caught on a ear ring in the ear. If a firefighter has grown facial hair or ear rings they are advised of the department policy and if they fail to shave or remove ear rings they are not permitted in the hot zone of any fires or emergency incident. We are a volunteer fire department and try to work with firefighters but a zero tolerence policy is in effect for scba and facial hair and ear rings.

Permalink Reply by PFC Harmon on February 7, 2009 at 2:32pm

On our department( a small vollie) it's hard for us to have a zero tolerance on facial hair but our members that are trained and are on our interior teams cannot have facial hair. We have a few members that only go to brush fires, drive the trucks, and run the pumps, they can have facial hair.

Permalink Reply by Jeff Taormina on February 7, 2009 at 6:33pm

Our policy does not permit beards, long sideburns or any facial hair below the lip.
They are told to shave once at the station and if they don't they are taken off active duty for one week.

Permalink Reply by Mike Wilson on February 14, 2009 at 11:08pm

I might be a little old school here, but the hair policy serves two purposes. With regards to SCBA compliance any facial hair that does not allow a proper seal SHALL be removed. This is for your SAFETY! The second is based on the professional appearance of the Fire Service. The people we serve deserve to be treated with respect and that includes how we act and look. If you want it all your way, do us all a favor and go work for Burger King. Take pride in how you look, take pride in OUR PROFESSION. In case you didn't know wearing your turnouts that you refuse to clean, doesn't make you look cool, it makes you DEAD. This too is a Safety item that is set up for your protection.

Permalink Reply by Stephen Russell on February 23, 2009 at 9:14pm

I agree with Mike, in the fire service these days the aspect of SAFETY dominates every issue, class, training evalution, etc... and for good reason. To me with the amount of FF's that die or are killed on the job, has made me take a more proactive approach to this topic. At work there is no question you will be clean shaven, mustaches trimmed at or above the corner of the mouth, and sideburns at or above the bottom of the ear. period the end or you go home. Now volunteers troops I feels should be held to no less standards, Being a volunteer for over 15 yrs, I've seen a lot not everything but a lot, but the same standards as well as the decipline standards, shave it or the interior firefighting privilage will be suspended. If you adhere to the policies and procedures the departments moral will be strong because if they want to do interior firefighting they know what they have to do.

I love tradition in the fire service, Leather helmets, Q- sirens, Macks with bulldogs, saving lives and property, etc... Firefighters dying for stupid or complacent reasons is not a tradition legacy I want to leave our profession.

Permalink Reply by John Schander on March 1, 2009 at 1:42pm

We go with no facial hair that is in the way of a good seal. When we go to state academy, no more thatn a moustache that doesn't go past the corners of the mouth.

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