Helmet Face Shield

[Ottawa]

Hello;

Do you flip down your helmet face shield while wearing your SCBA face mask? Do you have a requirement to do it or is the SCBA shield as strong as the helmet shield?

Thanks.

[backsteprescue123]

Hello;

Do you flip down your helmet face shield while wearing your SCBA face mask? Do you have a requirement to do it or is the SCBA shield as strong as the helmet shield?

Thanks.

IIRC, the SCBA mask is certified to the ANSI Z87.1 standard for eye protection, so it should be sufficent.


Don't quote me on that however.

[ACfire1]

Yeah I do usually that if something with the mask is defective I have the face shield.

[DDD123]

Yeah I do usually that if something with the mask is defective I have the face shield.

ACfire..
You shouldn't be wearing a defective face piece.. The helmet face shield does nothing.....after about two or three fires you can't see out of it anyway.... leave it up.. or better yet, take it off the helmet.

[lrg500]

If I've been told right, I believe the face mask is considered to be NFPA compliant eye protection. I know the face shield is only a secondary means of eye protection. I use to pull my shield down when I masked up but it started getting in my way so I took it off. Hope this helps.

[Weruj1]

If I've been told right, I believe the face mask is considered to be NFPA compliant eye protection. I know the face shield is only a secondary means of eye protection. I use to pull my shield down when I masked up but it started getting in my way so I took it off. Hope this helps.

You sir are correct !

[Bones42]

Do you flip down your helmet face shield while wearing your SCBA face mask?

No, and in all honesty, have never seen/heard of anyone doing this in the last 20 years.

[BLSboy]

Heh!
The Dept I was with before my (idioic) relocation to the Garden State INSISTED all wear the stupit sheild.
I wore a leather and Bourkes

[SSHANK42]

My shield stays up. I could not see thru it anyway.

[doughesson]

My old department has both the Bourke type eyeshields and the 4" face shields.I got used to the shield type helmet and would always have it down for the reason above:it's an extra layer or protection as it were.
Well,that and the helmet was old enough that the screws holding the danged thing wouldn't hold it up which is why in numerous newsclips(all three of them),you'd see me helping take up with my helmet turned around backwards.I wasn't making a fashion statement.The shield not staying up when I wanted it to just annoyed me no end.

[jeneric]

I always left my mask up until i bought leather. It of course had the Bourkes which are totally useless. With that helmet, i would rather wear goggles than the Bourkes.

[dustinlevengood]

I always left my mask up until i bought leather. It of course had the Bourkes which are totally useless. With that helmet, i would rather wear goggles than the Bourkes.

Bourkes aren't even NFPA approved anymore are they? They're completely useless as are face shields. I dont know why shields are still approved, they offer minimal protection during extrication operations it doesn't take a whole lot to get something to fly up underneath one of those. All of our helmets here in Riverside County are issued with goggles no shields no bourkes.

[jeneric]

dustinlevengood, I am not sure. I have retired about 6 years ago so I am not sure anymore. I always thought that they were useless as well. It funny, I remember a youngster once telling me that he didn't like face shields "because they might melt to my face". I let him think about that for awhile ......

[ChicagoFF]

Bourkes work just fine.

[KEEPBACK200FEET]

Bourkes aren't even NFPA approved anymore are they? They're completely useless as are face shields. I dont know why shields are still approved, they offer minimal protection during extrication operations it doesn't take a whole lot to get something to fly up underneath one of those. All of our helmets here in Riverside County are issued with goggles no shields no bourkes.

Goggles burn up too. So you might as well keep a good pair of safety glasses in your pocket if Bourkes don't suit your fancy.

[dustinlevengood]

Goggles burn up too. So you might as well keep a good pair of safety glasses in your pocket if Bourkes don't suit your fancy.

The goggles are only used during auto extrication, or when running a saw on a roof, the rest of the time they are flipped backwards and secured to the back of my helmet, if they melt my helmets gonna melt, and before that happens i'm gettin the f**k outta dodge. Alot of us myself included typically do use safty glasses rather then the goggles but if you drop the glasses somewhere or misplace em the goggles are always there.

[tbonetrexler]

Dont have a faceshield anymore, so i can honestly say that i dont, lol.

[SWLAFireDawg]

We use them on the industrial department I am on, but it is a different firefighting atmosphere than structural. Although, even in the industrial setting, they seldom are placed more than halfway down due to the possibility of an LPG environment (gases get caught up under the shield and create an explosive environment....right in your face). They mainly just keep water spray off your safety glasses....but that doesn't last too long when going in for a valve out under a 1000+gpm cooling master stream with 2 hand lines throwing power cones.

I actually like the "darth vader" helmets used in the UK. They seem like a better design for full face protection, and eye protection is always with your hlmet.

[BKDRAFT]

I cannot stand the shields. A majority of all of our members use the faceshield. Our chief will not allow us to use bourkes although there isn't an SOP about it. So I have no bourkes or shield. Just the ESS goggles attached to the helmet.

[tbonetrexler]

Goggles burn up too. So you might as well keep a good pair of safety glasses in your pocket if Bourkes don't suit your fancy.

Thats for those of you who see fire more than once or twice a year, lol. The goggles were a good investment for me, since 75% of our calls are MVCs. Of the other 25%, probably 1% involves fires big enough to melt my goggles. It all depends on your departments percentages though.