Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bryan Kohrmann on February 8, 2008 at 12:27am

WE are required to wear hardhats during any haz-mat. I think, but not sure, that its an OSHA requirement.

Permalink Reply by Kristy Oxholm on February 8, 2008 at 4:34pm

We have tried a variety of different options for hard hats in our suits. We started with regular hard hats - Okay if they stayed where they were supposed to be. I spent most of one response having my partner direct me while I read the warning label on the inside of the hard hat....

We then went to bicycle helmets, which worked pretty well but don't really accomplish the same protection we are looking for.

We have settled on USAR style helmets. They are light, stay in place and provide protection.

Permalink Reply by Ken Zaydel on April 17, 2008 at 2:26pm

I have noticed that hard hat tend to not wear good. We have started trying out bicycle helmets. I will let ya'll know the out come

Permalink Reply by J Mac on May 10, 2008 at 10:18pm

On our team we were issued the hard hats like you could find at Home Depot for about $4.95. I think we got a free paint stirrer with each one now come to think of it.

Some municipalities have the motto “Nothing is too good for the men.” So we got plenty of it. Nothing that is.

I picked up a Bullard Advent like you would use in technical rescue. It is comfortable to wear, offers a lot better protection the Home Depot models, and stays in place nicely because of the chin strap.

Hope this helps……

J Mac

Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on May 11, 2008 at 8:47pm

My team wears MSA-style construction hard hats inside our Level A, but we got the version with the elastic chin straps so they actually stay on your head. When you're working around bump hazards, they're nice to have. You don't need high-impact USAR or technical rescue style helmets for most hazmat - simple OSHA construction-type helmets are generally adequate.

Permalink Reply by Sean on May 13, 2008 at 9:53pm

We also use a USAR style hat, it provides us the most protection and the least amount of interferance.