Should All FD have the same color turnouts? What color do you prefer?

Hey Y'all
Should all FD have the same color turnouts? If so, what color?
Also, what color turnouts do you prefer?
What do you think works better; black, yellow, silver, orange...ect?

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Permalink Reply by Steven Fox on January 1, 2011 at 10:37pm

I don't think it would be a good idea. Everyone would look the same, and if your in Cali mid-summer all black turnout, ughh. No thank you. Mine is yellow, with lime, and 3M reflective trim. I like it, really stands out at night, which I really like.

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on January 2, 2011 at 12:51am

Imagine the buying power if all FD's had the same colour- the price discounting would be amazing!

Also interesting to see no one really addressed my comment on page 1 about ICS on scene.

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on January 2, 2011 at 12:52am

The colour can have a huge impact in terms of scene safety- do a bit more research and you'll see....

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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on January 2, 2011 at 12:57am

If we ever succeed in tying turnout gear to scene safety, we'll have Hi-viz lime gear with silver reflective stripes like British Police wear.

On the plus side, if we did standardize turnout gear color, that would put an end to these endless "what color gear do you like?" threads!

Stay safe!

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Permalink Reply by capcityff on January 2, 2011 at 7:14am

I agree that it doesn't matter if everyone looks the same. If you get that confused because everyone looks alike then you really shouldn't be running a fire scene. We all look alike on scene here since we don't run with other departments because we are a big city. So it's really not a problem.

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Permalink Reply by Jack on January 2, 2011 at 7:26am

I am beginning to agree with you. Wear what is issued to you. If you're in charge of purchasing for your Dept. then poll your staff. What's next, are we now gonna compare what color socks we wear?

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Permalink Reply by David Earl Gregory on January 2, 2011 at 8:49am

Aw, what the heck. I've worn black, tan, yellow and brownish gold. True the lighter colors provide a little more visibility, unless you're in snow and then black stands out quite well. At night, everything greys out anyway so the only way you're really going to be "seen" is when a light hits the reflective trim. Should we be discussing the pros and cons of which color reflective is best?

Not only should your gear provide protection from heat and penetration, it has to be comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. If you're so wrapped in a protective cocoon, you're not going to be able to dissipate heat and you're going down due to heat exhaustion or worse. What's next, AC in the pockets? While I'm all for safety, if you pick blackberries for a living, sooner or later you're gonna get a briar. Firefighting is dangerous in itself. If the PPE you have to wear is so heavy and cumbersome you can't function effectively, you're now at greater risk than you were before.

Color of turnouts has little bearing on the ability or lack thereof to get the job done, IMHO. You want color coding for ID purposes? Color the helmets for the various jobs. Black for engine, red for truckies, blue for EMS, white for officer ranks, etc. Just my opinions on what is obviously a never ending discussion.........

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on January 2, 2011 at 9:28am

Let me be the first to say...ARGYLE!

All firefighters should wear ARGYLE socks.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on January 2, 2011 at 9:55am

Even the animal kingdom knows that it's important to always look the same. It's not what you know, it's how you look. Everyone knows that... We should all learn from the animals and simply just blend in.

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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on January 2, 2011 at 10:09am

But it raises a NEW issue, which is better; Brown rabbits or White?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on January 2, 2011 at 10:12am

I knew you would bring that one up, and to be honest, I'm still stuck on helmet colors, turnout colors and now thanks to you, rabbit colors... and for what it's worth, I did find some LEO rabbits...

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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on January 2, 2011 at 11:15am

I really don't think that we, as mammals, can really fight the instinctual desire to look the same. For firefighters, who ever has the most gold gets to make the decision for us. If the Chief wants pink turnouts for example, so be it.