A few years ago I read of a firefighter's young child trying on his father's fire helmet. The article said because the weight was too much for the child's neck muscles to support and the helmet didn't properly fit, he suffered a fractured neck when the helmet flopped over. At that time, my department issued a new policy which stated we were not to let children try on fire helmets during station visits.
The helmet ad on page 63 in this month's Firehouse magazine reminded me of this story. Just something to think about. If you let kids try on your helmet, make sure you support it with your hands to take the weight off or better still don't let them put it on at all. Remember, some of today's helmets weigh almost 5 pounds!
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Mike Gentili, Capt.
New Bedford Fire Dept.
The helmet ad on page 63 in this month's Firehouse magazine reminded me of this story. Just something to think about. If you let kids try on your helmet, make sure you support it with your hands to take the weight off or better still don't let them put it on at all. Remember, some of today's helmets weigh almost 5 pounds!
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Mike Gentili, Capt.
New Bedford Fire Dept.
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