a very frustrating thing about being a female firefighter in my experience is masking up/ wearing a helmet with longish hair. i have not found a way to wear it comfortably and out of the way. high bun in the helmet makes the helmet fit wierd, low bun below helmet limits movement of my head. any advice from the girls out there??!!!

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Single french braid is the only way for comfort and if you are real careful when you take your mask off...you don't tear your hair out.... :o)
Sandy, My pony tail is about 18" long and i just keep it as that,a ponytail.under the hood it's protected and out of the way.if your hair is long enough to pull it all into the tail ,all the better.If not just tuck in what sticks out.
I agree with Debra. French braid it. If you can't french braid your own hair then put it in the lowest pony tail you can and then braid the bottom. That is how I wear it because for the same reason as you if I wear it anyother way then my helmet feels funny. Just remember only use a light spray of hairspray so you can get more then one fire/auto acc. out of the same braid. I hope this helps and good luck, Stay safe.
thats all good, thanks for the advice, however i'm a vol.and respond from home or wherever my adventures take me, so i don't always have advanced notice to put braids in, any suggestions for last minute comfort?
extra hair ties
I honestly keep mine short for many reasons, one being a FF. I realize that not everyone looks good in short hair, but there is a nice benefit to it, it never gets in the way :)
I havent had my hair short since i got out of the Marines and refuse to cut it...lol even my chief stopped bugging me about it.And we are volly too
haha, yeah if I had my hair cut short, only mom would love me if you know what i mean! i always claim that is what I am going to do whenever I rip off my mask and a hunk of hair comes with it. I just can't part ways with my hair!
i keep extra hair ties with me but low pony tail doesnt work for me. I have ALOT of hair. not thick but alot of it, i find it gets in the way!
yeah GI Jane style. Ok maybe not. The females in my department either use pony tails, or simply pinning the hair behind their ears and the hood covers the rest.
I also run with a volunteer department. I run out the door with no notice at all times of the day or night. Sometimes I might have my hair dolled up to go out, and sometimes it might be plastered to the drool on the side of my face.
The best solution I've come up with to be ready to pack up is to keep scrunchies at hand. I have a scrunchy clipped on to my gear bag as well as one clipped on to my turn out gear. One of our officers said I shouldn't have that scrunchy clipped to the outside of my turn out gear (flammable), but hopefully that is the one I will be grabbing to put in my hair and not be left hanging on my gear.
I pull it back in a low (nape of neck) pony tail that falls below my helmet. My hair is the type that breaks into short wisps around my face, so I have wispies to try to brush back out of the way of my mask. I have bangs that get in the way too. It is difficult for me to mask up with absolutely no hair getting caught in my seal.

Aaand .... NO .... I'm not cutting it! lol

I forget who that was with the Pebble do, but, how in the world do you do that with a helmet??? That would bug me to no end .... I think .... although I won't knock it without trying it. I know having those plastic claw clips in the helmet don't work.

Regarding crawling on hands and knees ... I think I should start my own thread about the use of knee pads .... hmmm.
haha yes! it makes my helmet not fit right which i don't like. i'm all about safety so i want everything to fit right! i dont mind the weight and crawling--love it! i just want to be safe

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