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Black turn outs and safety
What color of turnouts do you use and why. I can't imagine using black because if I go down in a fire, It will be harder to find in black.Yes , I get you have the pass device but sometimes hearing where the sound is coming from in the comotion is hard.I prefer the normal tan color.I clean mine after every fire.Be safe and God Bless all of you.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Tan PBI also turns red when heat-damaged, which gives the same indication as does heat-damaged black PBI.
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Mitch,
If red apparatus and black turnout gear is all it takes for a fire-rescue department to have "no worries", then sign me up. :-)
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Permalink Reply by Terry on
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We use the black gear. We have reflective striping sewn in to it. I have been on the FD for 23 years and we have always used black. We also have black helmets unless you are a junior and the have yellow helmets to go with their black turn out gear.
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Permalink Reply by Steve on
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We used tan for about my first 8yrs, we than switched to black for about the last eight. I haven't really noticed that big of a change in heat. If your outside and taking a break, you should have your coat opened and/or off anyway. The reflectives show up really well on the black gear also.
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Permalink Reply by Ray Edwards on
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Wow, as we can see, there are numerous opinions on color.I still believe after all the discussion that black is not as safe as tan.Tan is easier to see in a smoke filled area,easier to see at night time mva's, and makes it easier to see contaminants.I appreciate the people that would prefer to wear black as that is your option.This is why we live in America.We all have choices . I hope all of you are safe and God Bless all of us selfish people that protect those unfortunite people that need us.Be safe.
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How about when you're working outside in the sun? Black gear will soak up solar heat and radient heat much more quickly than light-colored gear. With heat stress being the #1 killer of firefighters, anything we can do to reduce heat stress even a little is a good idea.
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Permalink Reply by Mitch on
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I believe the preference has to due with where you are located and what the majority of your response calls are. Here in Iowa soaking up solar heat can be a blessing from late October to March. As for heat stress killing firefighters I feel that his could be managed more effectively by proper rehab, individuals taking an active role in their own health, getting fit, and proper hydration management. I also believe the materials of the gear will have more influence then that of the color when reducing heat stress Black may not be the greatest color choice for working on or near roadways at night but during the day it’s the very opposite. I feel that you should wash your gear regardless if you see it’s dirty or not as many contaminants will not be visible regardless the color.
When I started researching gear this past spring I thought Crayola had taken over the industry with the variety of colors being offered like gold, chocolate brown, crimson and caramel. I think it’s great that there is such a variety especially on mutual aid calls where every dept is easily distinguishable. Ultimately the final choice should be of personnel preference to fit your needs when you consider your location and calls. Before I purchased our first installment of new gear I did a lot of homework and addressed the concerns that many of you have about colors
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Mitch,
If I read your response regarding heat stress correctly, you're saying that it's OK to intentionally use gear that you know is going to generate more heat stress as long as you have good rehab and are fit? And you're saying that black is a high-viz color in daylight? Is that what you're saying?
Every little bit counts when we're talking about reducing firefighter injury and death. That means avoiding the intentional use of low-viz gear colors and the use of a fabric heat sink, IMHO.
The little things matter - sometimes they matter a lot. It's generally not the big things that everyone sees that kill firefighters. We tend to recognize those things and fix them. More often it's several of the little things strung together in a chain of circumstance. If someone would just recognize one of the little things and stop it, we might go to a few less of those funerals we give so spectacularly. I've been to the funerals of four close friends who died from those chains of little things.
Black turnout gear seems like a little thing...right?
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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My current turnout coat is black (old fashioned, wool, great coat on a cold night) and the pants are yellow. Fine visibility wise - as we're supposed to wear traffic vest anyway when doing traffic control... But the black coat is an animal when working in hot weather - 35C and a thick black coat are not a good combination. For our new PPE we were given the choice between tan and (s)lime green - after looking through all the data I could find I chose the green as it seems marginally better at allowing the body to lose its metabolic heat - though somebody who'd tested both types over a period told us that we're going to be bloody hot no matter which one we wear...
Visibility of PPE at night? I think the colour is of little importance, we have all that retro-reflective tape, and traffic vests where necessary, to provide visbility. During daylight hours I think the lime green I've orfered will help.
If you want to see a lot of FF's wearing dark PPE (black or navy blue), try Europe. Dark seems very popular there.
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Permalink Reply by BillySFCVFD on
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History has a way of repeating itself. I guess I'll be in fashion first when yellow makes a come back. Regardless of it's visibility and coolness. Does anyone else other than my FD use yellow turnouts anymore?
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Did you really mean wool turnout coat?
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I guess wool is what he said.Talk about old uniform. I guess i will stay with my tan.Be safe.
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