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Are you wearing your nomex hood?
I'm not going to lie here and I'll probably catch so greef on this one, but if I can get pasted the safety officer without wearing my nomex, I will. I hate them period and yes I've had hot embers go down my neck and I've gotten severe burns from them, but I can find a fire so much faster without it on because when you've got it on you cant feel the heat as much, I like feeling the heat because in a totally smoke filled house I use that heat to find the fire and there's about 3 of use on the department that are the most aggressive interior attack guys we've got and none of use like to wear them. If we get caught without them we've got to put them back on and its like going into a fire clueless and searching all over to find the fire. Just wanted to know if anybody else does this or are we the only ones out there...................................be honest know:)
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Uh, you aren't the only ones - but you're in the minority. I wear my hood religiously when going inside, and have for the past couple of decades.
See, Nomex hoods were designed to prevent hot embers from going down your neck and getting severe burns. If you get burned like this and are laid up for a while, you can't fight any fires, can you?
Hoods are part of the protective ensemble that along with SCBA keep us protected from the extreme environment inside a burning building. Thermal imaging cameras, on the other hand, were developed to find fires quickly in zero visibility conditions - thus preventing injury or death to firefighters.
We have catchy phrases like "everyone goes home" that we like to chant as slogans. This not only includes all members going home alive, it includes all going home UNINJURED. We need to make this slogan a reality, however until everyone wears ALL of their PPE ALL of the time it's going to be just another slogan. -
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Permalink Reply by Travis on
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I don't like the nomex hood either, but I don't like gettting burned. So I wear mine.
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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I fully understand your concern and thought process as I too can remember the days of non-hoods and feeling the heat was easier.
Things to think about are, todays fires are hotter, they are actually flashing quicker. This is caused by many things but I will expound on two. The furnishings are made with more hydrocarbon fuels, synthetic fuels and other compounds that when the pyrolysis process occurs, they off gas benzene, tolulene and acrolein. With just the last one, it can flash at very low temperatures, in the 400F range. hence earlier low temperature flashovers are being reported. 2. Due to structures being tighter now-a-days with the economy and such (cost of heating oil) this also has a direct correlation to seeing earlier onset of flashovers.
Not wearing your hood in today's insult is asking for trouble and potentially could have deadly consequences. Noboday wants to see you walking around without ears, after many years of surgery and skin grafting. May I suggest using your hood at more training fires and attempt to identify, heat through the hood with multiple exposures. It can be done, covering your ear and feeling if it gets cooler... But what about using our "other" senses, as suggested by Joe, (sight-with a TIC) or my favorite, being sound. Stop, ask for all quiet and hold your breath. Listen for sounds of fire burning, crackling, etc. Cover your ear with a gloved hand and listen again to see if the sound gets louder or softer. If it becomes louder then the fire is on that side of the room or hallway.
Best of luck... FETC -
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Permalink Reply by Justin Buck on
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i hate wearing my nomex hood
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Permalink Reply by Jim Dyson on
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yes they are hot and uncomfortable but they required PPE and need to be worn
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Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on
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Here is a compromise for you then. Get a PBI hood. A carbon hood will not allow any heat through until it is too late. A nomex hood is a good insulator and protector. I hate PBI hoods since I fell they let too much heat through. I like to get close and intimate with the fire. PBI hoods are lighter and will still show that you are wearing your gear, and yes they are compliant.
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Permalink Reply by PFC Harmon on
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I wear my hood but I took the nomex flap of of my cairns helmet. You can feel the heat better and still be protected.
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Permalink Reply by T.J. on
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I never thought of that either, but is it wrong to take your flaps off or is it still compliant.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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I have a carbon fiber hood, and I wear for all entries, including training burns in the burn building.
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Honestly the one time I wish I wore mine was in a flashover and I've only been in one and never want to be again without that on, but I was young and now I know what to watch for.
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Joe I'm sure you faught fire's back in the day where they were not even around yet and you wore the leg boots, I dont know maybe its a "man" thing that I hate wearing it, the "last thing I want to be is a statistic, I've got 2 toddlers and that would be very bad, I suppose it's just a thing I'm going to have to break in on myself. I feel bad kinda because all the probies wont to know why we dont where them, and I'm not showing them anything good, like the phrase says "lead by example".
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