Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on May 9, 2010 at 2:04pm

Are you looking for "meaning" or looking to save your head...? This reminds me of the stories of rookies putting their helmets in the oven to get "the look"....God help the idiot I catch doing something stupid like that...I take care of my gear and clean it regularly, and expect others to do the same.......Paul

Permalink Reply by Dave on May 9, 2010 at 2:15pm

Paul, you clearly missed the point. Point was buying someones used helmet may look cool...if thats what your going for....buying a brand new right out of the box helmet that gets the scares that you put in by going to your own fires has more meaning then what the guy did prior to you. For the record...alot of the old timers i work with Still have the old non impact helmets, It amazes me how ever do they survive....yes...that is with Sarcasim! Regardless of what you wear, a building falls on your head your not going to have a happy ending.

Permalink Reply by Dave on May 9, 2010 at 2:34pm

i just took a second look at the pics, and compared to my own helmet. What i think i am seeing is this. The small cracks on the brim...they are fine. They are paint cracks and normal helmet wear will cause them along with over bending for the BRONX bend. On the side pics, with the clips that have been overly painted, where the brim meets the crown there should be two metal clips, one on each side. There should be a slight space on both sides about 1/4 of an inch...dont see it on yours in the pics....which leads me to believe that who ever restored this placed apoxy in those spaces to fill the gaps...that are normal from the factory. Also, by looking at the pic, i see stiching...then a small space..where the gap should be, it is smooth....then stitching again. Something tells me it is apoxy that has cracked and this helmet is fine! Bring it to the station and compare it with another that is roughly the same age. AND stop buying gear you plan on wearing off of ebay!! =)

Permalink Reply by Brian Mackie on May 9, 2010 at 3:12pm

What does the manufacturer say about repairing, or modifying their product in any way? Will it still meet NFPA standards if modified or repaired? I tried looking for the standard, (but didn't try overly hard) and I am sure there are people on this site that know the standards by heart. Maybe they can tell you if its ok to modify or repair. For ME, I would not buy any PPE that was usd and needed any repairs.

Permalink Reply by Dave on May 9, 2010 at 4:12pm

our laddermen paint the tips of there helmets red, to tell the truth, we really dont care if this is NFPA compliant.

Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on May 9, 2010 at 5:50pm

"Don't care if NFPA compliant or not"...really....? If you get hurt or worse yet killed and you have non-compliant equipment due to your personal mods are you aware that you may not get benefits...? Those blood sucking vultures out there called lawyers are quite good at taking care of that.....

Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on May 9, 2010 at 6:05pm

I have used several epoxies over the years. My only suggestion is to find one that is slightly flexible. The first couple I used were so hard, they eventually cracked off. I use the Loctite 2 part epoxy. It tends to stay slightly flexible and can move with the helmet. Just about any acrylic enamel paint will work.

Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on May 9, 2010 at 6:06pm

The N6A is the only Cairns/MSA leather that is NFPA compliant. There are others on the market.

Permalink Reply by Dave on May 9, 2010 at 7:44pm

Paul, the dept has been doing the red paint for well over 100 years, in that time the BFD has over 100 lodd, all have been granted there bennies. Not one ff that I have heard about have been denied lodd bennies because his helmet was painted red or touched up. Nfpa also stated that bourkes are not nfpa compliant, which is what my dept does and has allows supplied. I have been listening to that same old arguement for years, I have yet to see any lodd denied bennies because there helmet had bourkes!

Permalink Reply by Sparky3317 on May 9, 2010 at 8:03pm

The N5A is not NFPA approved it is only OSHA approved

Permalink Reply by Sparky3317 on May 9, 2010 at 8:04pm

Not all states have to follow NFPA. Massachusetts is one of those states. We are not an NFPA state but an OSHA state.

Permalink Reply by Brian Mackie on May 9, 2010 at 8:15pm

Dave,
let's say for argument sake, that FF Joe T. Blow, went to a job, and got bonked on the head and he was seriously injured, and unable to work anymore. Do you think the people who are going to pay out the "bennies" would be asking about his helmet? Do you not think that they would want to know every single detail about that helmet? whether it was cracked before the accident, repaired, painted, or modified in any way? Would they be asking if the helmet was NFPA compliant? IF the helmet did not meet the standards set out by NFPA, would the bennies still be paid out? Lets up the ante here, what if JOE T. BLOW's family decided to sue the helmet maker, and / or the fire department, etc. etc. . Would any of this stuff matter in the law suit? OSHA or NFPA standards not being met, might compromise the success of the lawsuit? Maybe I am wrong. I am just asking here. Hoping some others will weigh in on it.

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