Hip Boots

Hello all me and some of the guys at the station, where cleaning the station up when we found some old hip boots from like the 80's. and I was just wondering if any fire dept's out in this great country of our's is still old school. With the 3/4 boots and trench coats ?

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Permalink Reply by FF. JR on January 25, 2009 at 11:53pm

Yeah I have seen that. and I saw a volly house in MD that Has some members still had them.

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Permalink Reply by C.Reed 9-26 on January 26, 2009 at 1:19am

We still have a few pair around the hall, but they're becomming a rarity anymore. I was never issued a pair but I'll snatch a pair out of the supply area for a flooded basement if I can find a pair that'll fit. My turn out boots are rarely high enough to keep the water out in those situations.

As for the choice to wear those and a long coat into a structure fire. No Thanks. I'd have a hard time crawling on a floor getting caught up in the coat dragging on the floor and all the heat sneaking up from the bottom.

Thank you Chicago for red over black trucks, hot dogs "dragged through the garden" and Da Bears. But I'll keep my bunker pants so that my future progeny may live.

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Permalink Reply by Doug on January 26, 2009 at 5:57am

We still have ours, in a glass trophy case, along with other antiques ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Jim Madison on January 26, 2009 at 6:53am

I started out my time in the fire service with the ¾ boots and in the summer they were great, well except for actually fighting fires. (I burned my back side once.) I am glad to have the “night hitch” for daily use now. I think until just recently Boston used the ¾ and were forced to get rid of them. I think the last time I had a pair was in the early 90’s. I found a pair in supply and used the loop whole in the NFPA standards of if it was accepted when purchased or something like that. Eventually the Chief made me give them up but it was nice while it lasted for smells and bells. I did however use my night hitch for real fires.

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Permalink Reply by Trainer on January 26, 2009 at 6:55am

No kiddin so do we. The pair we have in our case are actually red in color, had them given to us by another dept. This was all we had in the early years, when we went bunkers; we just cut the top off and continue to ware them till we could afford new.

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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on January 26, 2009 at 7:08am

they are great for water emergencies. Everyone around my area has bunker pants. (Phased out the hip boots ages ago)

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Permalink Reply by T.J. on January 26, 2009 at 8:01am

We've got a fire department 2 hours south of me that use them just because they dont have the budget to bys bunkers and they dont do any interior fire fighting because of this.