When to get your gear on

[Kevo231]

hey everyone. before i start, i dont want this to get ugly, like some opinion theads do around here. anyways, ive been with my department for about 6 monthes now. i usually keep my gear hung up on our hose rack (because we have 2 engines and i never know which one is gonna roll) so i can easily get my gear on. i will usually get my turnout pants on first and grab my jacket and get it on then get on the truck. en-route is when i put on the rest of me gear, zip up, and get a pack on if i need it. well we went through a driver safety class a few days ago, and they are recomending now that we wait untill we get to the scene to put the rest of our gear on. they basicly want us to sit in our seats, buckle up and just ride and get the rest of our stuff on when we get there, rather than get ready in the truck and when we arive on scene be good to go. i was wondering what other epartments out there do as far as this concern. i understand they want to be safe in the event of an accident while in the engine, but i am use to getting ready while en-route.

[LeuitEFDems]

I usually put the pants on before hopping on the truck...I'll throw the jacket on, unzipped and hop in the truck...I can zip up, put my hood on and pack up with the seatbelt on so safety seatbelt-wise isn't an issue...If I'm driving, the pants go on, and the coat helmet, etc get thrown on the doghouse/bench seat...I don't/can't drive with those on.

[MG3610]

get dressed before you board the rig. Sit in a seat and buckle up for the ride. We are/were all guilty of getting dressed while riding. I even remember tossing my shoes and putting bunkers on in the open jumpseats.....now thats plain nutts these days (even though at the time it seemed fun). When we arrive on a run, I get out and then reach back into the cab and don my BA over the shoulder (coat style) from the street, rather than attempt to don it in the seat. This something I've just started doing and I like it so far.

[RFDACM]

Like MG3610 we require full gear before boarding the truck for 90% of calls. Generally if the duty officer isn't getting all gear on, you don't but it's usually verbalized. Wildland, bark mulch, minor MVA's, alarms with reported known cause, etc. The next two towns to us have a huge contrast to this. One dons full PPE and masks up o the way to the call, stepping off the truck on air for nearly everyhting, and the other tosses gear bags on the truck and put it on at the scene. I can't agree with either, but I really can't stand seeing guys arrive unprepared to go to work. Some day they'll catch a job with an obvious rescue and wish their policy was different.

[ADSNWFLD]

Seatbelts are important, too many of us are being hurt or killed while responding to calls.
Put your gear on in the station, I put on pants, then hood, and finally the coat. If everyone isn't on I put on my truckbelt also.(never be last) You should be able to put everything (including helmet and gloves) on in 45 seconds or less anyway. Just get out there first and you'll have plenty of time.

[Bones42]

In my company, the only guy not fully dressed before getting on the rig is the driver, and sometimes they are. Usually, 2 or 3 guys have their SCBA on their backs before boarding the truck. The other 2 get their SCBA's on while on the truck. All are wearing boots, pants, coats before getting on. And for those that will state so...no, it does not delay us more than 30 seconds.

[Dave1983]

Fully dressed before you board the rig (not counting helmet/cloves) except drivers who dont wear PPE while driving per SOP. SCBA while enrout.

[voyager9]

We get our gear on before getting on the truck. I personally prefer hood/bunkers/coat. Our rigs have the SCBA in the seats so those are put in while enroute.
I'm not going to say I've never gotten dressed while enroute, but it's clearly not a good idea. Even ignoring the obvious safely concerns, when 4 guys are trying to done PPE in the back it is very chaotic and cramped. If they are busy untangling themselves then they're not paying attention to radio reports, orders from the officers..etc.

[oldman21220]

Some of us are old enough to remember getting dressed on the tailboard.

[TCFire]

Get dressed before boarding the rig. Shouldn't delay you more than a minute if you're even halfway proficient in donning your gear. Getting dressed while enroute is not my idea of fun..reminds me of being in the middle of a rugby scrum...elbows and arms flying everywhere.

While enroute, if SCBA is required, release the restraint straps, with seatbelt fastened, get your arms through the straps and grab a mask. On arrival, tighten up and fasten your straps and you're ready to go. I don't want our folks coming off the rig on-air or masked up except in extraordinary situations. For me, nothing worse than trying to stretch hose, grab tools, trip over uneven ground or junk in the yard while blundering around in a fogged up mask. Get to the door or the safest place to mask up and you're good to go.

[RFDACM]

Usually, 2 or 3 guys have their SCBA on their backs before boarding the truck.

How does that work? Man, talk about uncomfortable. Do they ride in non-SCBA seats with the pack on? Not that I'm a "Safety Sally" by any stretch but this seems difficult if not dangerous.

[Bones42]

My first due engine only has 2 SCBA seats. Many times, the officer of the truck and at least 1 other guy takes the SCBA off the wall and puts in on. We have seatbelt extenders so they still get around your waist. It's not the most comfortable ride in the world, but workable. Being as our normal first due area's longest ride would be 3/4 mile, we don't have a problem with it. Mutual aid calls, we don't put them on but still grab off the wall. They rest on the floor between your feet for the longer ride. Along with the 2 SCBA seats, we have 3 in a compartment, but many times the truck rolls with 7 FF's.

[LaFireEducator]

This is an area where I have major issues with my department's procedures. Our guys get dressed in the rig while responding, except the driver, obviously. The idea that we have up to 4 guys unrestrained messing around getting dressed in the back and front (yes, this includes the officer's seat as well) really upsets me, but nobody seems to have an issue with it except me. This is the first department I have been on in close to 20 years where the memebers do not get bunker pants and coats on (not necessarily buckled, but on) before getting into the rig. The reason I am given is that the chief wants to not slow down response times but having the truck "sit" while the members gear up. Sorry, but to me this is putting the few seconds this will cost the public ahead of the safety of the firefighters. And most of ya know how I feel about firefighter safety. Generally I will at least try to sneak my bunker pants on before we leave if i'm riding in the back if it sounds like a working fire or MVA. Everyone steps off the truck with a pack on if appropriatte.

As for the driver, he may get dressed on scene, depending lon his task. If he is simply going to pump the truck he will generally stay in the station uniform but he will bunker out if he is going to be involved in firefighting or an extrication operation. Generally I drive without the pants if I'm driving the engine. If driving the rescue I'll throw them on if it sounds like a "working" structure/vehicle fire or MVA. Brush fires I wear my station uniform.

[fire0099881]

on my old dept. if you was on the engine you alway's had full gear on before even getting on the truck, now if you was driving the tankers, or rescue truck it was kind of your own opinion on those, I personally on any call that required gear, it was completly on, maybe the coat wasn't alway's zipped everytime, my buddy lived about 100 yards from the station, and when we was over there, there was about 5 of us that would be running to the station, we could have the trucks on the road in under 2 mins from the time the tones went off, and be fully geared, although we never wore our seatbelt's except for the driver, but that has completly changed now everyone wears them. personally if you ask me I would rather see you fully geared before you step onto the truck, rather than what someone said earlier about waiting till they got on scene to gear up. and alway's wear your seat belts too.

[WBenner]

We get dressed with full turnout gear on.** Except helmet and gloves and mask they get donned when needed. SCBA are in the seats and don as well for Fire/remote alrams etc.. Medical calls minium is bunker pants. SEAT BELT on.. If Im driver pants and coat on..

[Haweater]

We were just put on notice by the Town that if a firefighter is injured in an apparatus accident and it was found that no seat belt was on, there will be NO compensation pay. Ya, we're only volunteers, but compensation is at max if injured on duty; but not if something happens in the truck and you weren't belted in. Pretty strong reason to belt up.

[Dave1983]

Medical calls minium is bunker pants. SEAT BELT on..

Just curious as to why you need bunker pants on medicals? Is this an SOP for some reason?

[RLFD14]

Agree with the majority, gear up before boarding.

Not only does it keep you from being unrestrained while getting dressed en route, it keeps you from being pressured or excited into doing something on scene before you are properly protected.

Too many guys show up POV to whatever kind of scene, and leave gear in the car or on the truck and just jump right into the hot zone. There is NO allowable justification for this.

Gearing up before you make the scene - by gearing up before you board - is the safest, smartest answer. You arrive safe, prepared, with your mind on size-up and the task at hand instead of trying to button up under any adrenaline haze.

[MarcusKspn]

I know we wear Bunker Pants as just another level of protection against body fluids. That moisture barrier does a great job keeping the blood and puke off my skin. And it is a lot easier to grap a line and hose off my bunkers than sitting around the station waiting for my uniform pants to wash and dry.

[MIKEYLIKESIT]

Some of us are old enough to remember getting dressed on the tailboard.

...Side step and standing in the jumpseat too. Was much easier when it was 3/4 boots only. As dangerous as it may seem/was, it was a great way as a young fireman to actually get a good look at what we were rolling up to.