Seat Belts? When are we going to stop the deaths?

When are we going to learn? I am an old timer and we never wore seat belts. I learned over time the importance of wearing seatbelts. I have been in a few mva's and I learned the that the studies and safety messages are right-on. Come on guys and gals, we need to stop killing ourselves off. Firefighters need more than ever to set the example, wear seatbelts. Tragically, two more brothers died in an mva. Just days before, two in a house fire. Every year 100 or more are honored at the memorial in Emmitsburg. When will the most technologically advanced fire services in the world finally wake up and put an end to this? By the way, I see that the rollover resistant cab of the Rocky mount apparatus held up real well! Not!

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Permalink Reply by Paul Price Sr on August 4, 2010 at 6:24pm

I am very happy to see that this discussion has produced such thoughtful comments. Please everyone, wear those seat belts. You are only useful to our customers if you arrive alive. You are vastly more important to your families if you come home from your shift. With everyone in government and the public in general against us due to the econony, taxes, etc, you must be your own best defenders. Be safe out there and thanks for your comments. Chief Price

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Permalink Reply by Chris Adams on August 4, 2010 at 8:38pm

It is the Engineers job to ensure everyone is wearing thier seatbelt. Our dept policy is the unit does not turn a wheel until everyone has thiers on. Our newer units have alarms that go off when they are unbuckled while driving to alert the driver. Safety first last and always.

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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on August 5, 2010 at 2:35am

Yes - newbies learn the good habits and the bad habits of those that mentor them.

I remember being nervous about hanging out on rooftops - so one drill my officers required that I carry more than 20 of my guys off a rooftop.

Most of my department climbed atop the fire house and sat there until I went up the ladder and carried them down one after another. Each trip I gathered more tips on improving my skill and each trip I carried a different age and shaped person increasing my confidence that I could handle various living patients.

That one drill cured me of my nervousness about that skill. My entire department was committed to me learning good habits of managing roof work and rescue. They were committed that it become my second nature and my automatic behavior would be confident and safe !!!

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Permalink Reply by Dennis L Dobbs on August 5, 2010 at 11:09am

what happened to your head? your hat is missing anyway I come with this to ponder.
So seat belts are a law, say you do not wear yours on an outing from the station, for what ever reason.
A wreck happens, you are killed. Your family is by law intitled to a LODD compensation. Right. A hot shot lawyer for the municapallity (that can't get a job with a real law firm) files a suit to hold up payment because the conditions of the law was not followed at the time of your passing.
Now your family could spend some money and probaly get it over turned, but that is funds that the family should have, not lawyers and judges. There you have it, this is entirely possible and I would not put it past a city to attempt this chicken kind of action.
Besides having worked many many years, I really do not want to go out because of a traffic mishap.
Let the city eat the response time, my big chief backs the seat belt delay completely.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Teel on August 7, 2010 at 3:50am

i wear a seat belt every time back in may i was in a head on collision in my car (not responding to a call) and the only thing that kept me from having more injuries then i did was my seat belt. i had a syncopy episode before i impacted the other vehicle for reasons unknown and i pulled myself out of my car and all i recieved was facial injuries and a concussion from the air bag. the EMTs on scene who are great friends of mine said that if it wasn't for my seat belt, i would've had much worse injuries or worse, i wouldn't be posting this reply right now. thank god for the NJ state law on seat belts