HI Folks,

We got a small under funded non-transport rescue and I am looking to find SOMTHING to put my people in for clothing.(no, they do NOT show up naked!)
When I was full time EMS we did the uniform pants and shirts thing which for a call service is useless. Previously, we had these navy blue and reflexlight jackets and pants from globe that were all "bloodborne pathogens" etc. I dont know how much we paid for them, but my gut tells me a buttload. Chief and Town Adminstration saw our people wearing their coats in public and had a cow, stating they had to be worn on calls only (owing to how expencive they were).  Since no one can wear their coats out, no one wears them anymore unless they happen to have them when the tones go off.  The pants almost never got worn and with turn over it is hard to stock them in sizes to fit whoever comes onboard next. The stationhouse is way to small to have sets of EMS gear hanging next to the turnouts so we have to wearing whatever when we get there.  The result is pretty much everyone ends up responding in street clothes.  Bloodborne resistant is great, but since people arent with their suits 24/7 the advatage is lost.  

We do have regular turnouts for MVAs, but wearing turnouts to medicals is just dumb.  I'm tempted to get a couple of big ass EMS "raid jackets" and leave them on the rig and have people just throw them on when they get to the call.

 

So the question is, what do you folks do?

Views: 1168

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

One commonly available and relatively cheap alternative for pants is military BDU's. They come in blue and lots of different sizes.
Nice thought, but unless we wore them 24/7 we would not have them on for the call. The Pants I was talking about were these pull on nylon "bloodborne pathogens" pants we were supposed ot wear over our civies....THanks though! :-)
Some depts use to buy EMS coveralls for all their members or enough of them to be placed on the gear racks to cover who responds on calls.

We have some of the jumpsuits which work pretty well for ems and are heavy duty enough for us to be inside an mva with a patient.

If we respond to the station for a medical call and dont have proper clothing for the call, (shorts,open shoes, etc.) we wear our turnout pants but dont require our coats for general medical calls.

We don't have restrictions on wearing dept shirts or coats outside of the station so that's not a problem for us. We do have members who will keep a dept shirt or sweatshirt with their gear or in their POV to have in case they need it.

 I understand how not having room can be a hassle, and depending on how your gear is hung up there may be a way for members to at least be able to keep a coat with their gear.

I know it has been a few months since the post but I figured I'd throw in what we do in case it helped at all. Has your dept found a way to make it work yet?

Stay safe.

 We just wear bunker pants with a t-shirt.  Yes  I said bunker pants.  When it is cold out some guys will actualy throw on there bunker coat too. 

 

 

Same here if it's cold.  Most of the time I just wear my normal blue duty pants and shirt.  Bunker pants only come on if I'm wearing shorts or if it's a shooting or something messy.  It's impossible to work on an ambulance for 24 hours though in DC wearing bunker pants to each run since we rarely make it back to the fire house.  They would never come off.

I agree with 55 Truck though, I don't see why you need anything special.  I run over 15 medicals each tour on average and manage fine.

If you don't want to wear the bunkers, I would suggest the coveralls they should be "relativally" inexpensive and can go over street clothes.

Ya, the jumpsuits we have are nice for EMS response. The only downside was in the summer they can get really hot to wear but they are a thicker material than standard coveralls. Other than that they are really nice.I don't remember where we got them or how much but I can check if you'd like.

have you considered plain old windbreaker jackets?

They are cheap to purchase, silkscreen or embroider and provide a good moisture barrier. If they become soiled they can be washed and because they are cheap I doubt the mayor or town council would mind people wearing them "out and about." They can be worn over any street clothes to make all of your responders uniform, and of course you still have the option of going to Turnouts for calls where they are appropriate.

The one pictured are about $40 each.

Greenman

I didn't know you were a model Greenman

we have coverall jumpsuits also, they are nice because you can put them on over anything.....and I think they are pretty reasonably priced..

We use the EMS verison of BDUs if your on duty. If your not on duty, we have the EMS pant and jackets mentioned. Recently however, we have been switching to EMS jump/flight suits. They are exactly what the Maryland State Police wear on their medivacs. Occasionaly, you'll see members in bunker pants, esp on MVCs

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Find Members Fast


Or Name, Dept, Keyword
Invite Your Friends
Not a Member? Join Now

© 2024   Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief.   Powered by

Badges  |  Contact Firefighter Nation  |  Terms of Service