NFPA 1971 Eye protection what are your dept doing

[postal79]

our chiefs are going crazy with this NFPA1971, no more eyeshields,goggles only and i hate having the goggles strapped to my helmet they are useless there,they flop all over and are stretched out when you go to use them i would rather have a faceshield on the helmet and goggles in my pocket for when i need them

when you order new helmets what is your department getting on the,.. flip downs,face shields or goggles

[911brad]

Just curious how this new NFPA 1971 works. Are helmets with faceshields grandfathered or do departments need to start replacing faceshields with goggles?

[tfogle]

Our department orders helmets with Bourkes on them and a pair of goggles. I took the goggles off because they are in the way and hardly useful when you have your hemlmet on. I am goin to look for a pair of goggles that have a separate lens for each eye (much smaller than the one piece units) and experiment with putting them around my neck before I put on my helmet/scott, so that they are out of the way, and when I finally put them on, they don't tug on the back of my helmet or get stretched out.

[tfogle]

Oops, duplicate!

[ 12-11-2001: Message edited by: Boney-t ]

[zshutchinson]

Have tried the faceshield(not complete enough- lets debris underneath), the large goggles(not a good seal against the eyes and cumbersome) and have settled for good heavy duty welder's safety glasses(like you had in shop) carried in a convenient pocket. These work very well for me. Haven't tried bourkes.

[Weruj1]

We have recently replaced all of our shields with ESS Goggles.............at first I wasnt a big fan since I wear glasses ....but they actually fit over them. I hope they hold up and dont get to streched out. Will also have to see what they like while working at an incident.

[Fitguy51]

So the NFPA doesn't think the face needs to be protected. I thought that was the reason for making the shield bigger. We had Bourques in my FD back when dirt was new, but went to face shield. I want my face protected too. The new Lion Assault helmet comes with an eye shield and one that protects you all the way to your chin. Better that any goggles.

[FireCap1]

The NFPA standard talks about primary and secondary eye protection. We're spec'ing out new helmets, and are going with a traditional helmet with ESS goggles (the best fitting goggles I've been able to find, and they're easily removed from and attached to the helmet.) The faceshield has been deemed secondary eye protection by NFPA, and my experience with the faceshield over the years is that its just about useless. The Bourkes are nothing but decoration. We also just issued personal safety glasses that meet the ANSI standards that the members can carry with them in the pockets of their turnouts (we realize they're not going to hold up very well, but they're cheap and easily replaced...the Battalion Chiefs will have replacement glasses to issue as needed.) It seems to me that firefighters have the ultimate full face/eye protection...the SCBA mask which should always be in use in an IDLH environment (structure fires, car fires, dumpster fires.) So, I guess our answer is to replace the faceshield (which was just about useless, expensive to replace when melted or broken) with the ESS goggles, issue safety glasses, and always have the option of donning the SCBA mask as the ultimate eye/face protection.

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: FireCap1 ]

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: FireCap1 ]

[pak-man]

When does this new NFPA standard go into effect? Because our dept. just bought new bullard salad bowls with faceshields. And I just bought a new NY style and had the option of a shield but opt. gor goggles. And what exactly does the standard say, no faceshield period?

[berger3447]

What exactly does the change say? Is this pretty cut and dry, because I'd really like to get rid of my face shield for goggles, but that's all the dept will buy us.

[snowball]

I've got a question for Boney-T that we here in the Central Valley have been pondering. How do you S.F. guys get away with wearing Bourkes?
Cal-Osha has outlawed them (so I read). And while were at it, why do most of the old salts go into a structure without drops on? No offense, I'm all for tradition, I just dont' see how youre' doing it with Cal-Osha on the job.