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Why don't we copy the French Fire Helmet Designs?
One of the coolest things I have ever received in the mail, ever... arrived at my house a couple of days ago. It was from one of the friends I made here on the FFN, and he is from France, where he works as a professional firefighter. Like many firefighters, we both like fire service related things and are involved with trading things back and forth. What amazed me however, was the functional design that I saw first hand.
Up to this point, I have only seen photographs of french firefighters wearing a very unfamiliar fire helmet style. To be honest, I blew off the design because they just did not look like fire helmets. After having the chance to actually wear one, I offer the following insight for those, like myself, who never have had the chance to see what our brothers and sisters across the Atlantic wear for head and face protection.
The world just keeps getting smaller... I invite everyone to take the time to get to know others around the world with the spirit of sharing and providing the most up to date training and response information available. We are not alone, we have each other.
Prenez garde à rester en sécurité, (TCSS)
CBz
The Casque Pompier (Fire Helmet):
Built in Safety Goggles:
Fire Helmet Protective Visor / Heat Shield:
View Through Fire Helmet Protective Visor / Heat Shield:
Fire Helmet Heat Shield:
05-25-2010 Update: I made direct contact today with MSA and spoke with one of two sales reps that have knowledge of the French Gallet F1-SF Firefighter Helmet. Here's what I learned:
• These "French" fire helmets are manufactured by MSA, which is 100% USA owned and is based internationally out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• MSA bought out the french company Gallet 7-8 years ago, which included this helmet design and manufacturing rights.
• Existing USA style fire helmets are rated to no more than 1500˚F, while this particular style is rated to 1800˚F. Why more? The same technology used by NASA for astronaut helmets visors are incorporated into this design. Both the helmet and face shield reflect the heat, keeping the interior of the helmet cool, with maximum interior helmet temperatures reaching around 95˚F.
• The existing F1-SF helmet does not meet NA standards as mentioned in one of the posts. However, there is such a demand now for this style that MSA is working on providing a NA approved helmet that has the same features but also possesses the necessary impact standards.
• What we are looking at is a glimpse of what the 21st century firefighters are going to be wearing, internationally...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Meadows on
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You don't know what a baster ie turkey baster is? It is used while cooking turkey to keep the turkey or whatever you are cooking moist. Usually used in baking of meats like turkey. I'm sure Capt. Busy can come up with a pic. If it's not made of metal what's it made of?
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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So nothing french is any good? Do have any data to support that supposition? Or is this based (loosely?) on the "Freedom Fries" rationale?
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Permalink Reply by firefish on
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Some traditions ARE worth holding on to...but not just because of the way they LOOK. It should always be about performance and our safety. Remember we have 1*. Speaking of age old tradition - these European fire helmets have a longer tradition than our leathers - they harken back to Roman Centurian's helmets. Top that! (sorry about the pun) I know people with both styles and each thinks there's is best. We will come up with criteria to support whatever we want. I would ask both sides to keep an open mind and try to consider the best way to come home safe at the end of the day.
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Permalink Reply by Mac Conant on
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Im interested in seeing how SCBA's work with this helmet. It looks cool..but i'll keep my leather. If i wanted a face shield system like that I'd join the Airforce.
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Permalink Reply by Roy Walker on
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As per usual BZ great friends and great posts. I'd like to see one of the magazines with resorces, test and compare the two in an article
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Permalink Reply by Matthew Powers on
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I like the style, it looks functional but I have learned the hard way to keep it simple stupid. What happens if the face shield takes too much heat stress in the down position, can I put it back up? What if it takes an impact, will I be able to get this off? I must say I do not like the shaped facets in the face shield. I think I would continue to get distracted by images being warped where the plastic bends. Have you ever had a windshield in a car that had an imperfection that made things look distorted? It is very distracting.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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I will be the first to agree that it looks like something out of Star Wars...
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I am having some difficulty translating french into english, but what I was able to determine was the internal helmet temperature, in an 1800˚F environment will be around 95˚F. This is not meant to be a wildland helmet... just like I don't wear my structure helmet to a wildland fire... too much weight and not functional.
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What's interesting is that compared side by side, a USA motorcycle helmet is pretty much identical to the french fire helmet sans the ridge on the top and the ARFF material flap on the back of the helmet. There are holes in the sides for hearing, which works quite well. Existing USA fire helmets afford no side protection to the head...
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Just for the record, I felt the exact same way. Until I had one in my hand, adjusted the internal and chin strap and put it on... All I can say is, not bad. What I found really interesting is that these helmets are manufactured by MSA. The material used for the construction of the helmet is the same as ours, polycarbonate.
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