Who gets the new gear?

[fireman_1]

Yeah, i have a quick question for you guys to feed on. Well i guess i should start out with little bit of background info. we got new PBI gear, and the luietiants(sp) and the crew chiefs are being issued it. BUT, most of them DON'T go into fires!! i mean, when chief 1 or 2 aren't available, the luietinants take charge. and they have the new gear. all of the fire fighters that DO go in, have the old nomex stuff! i'm not complaining, because i'm just happy that i have gear, but doesn't that sound kind of stupid??? The guys that are telling us what to do are the most protected, and they are on the outside of the building. and the guys that are told what to do are being sent into the building not as protected as the officers!lol. sounds dumb to me! what do you think? be nice! i love this dept. i just think this is kind of stupid.

[PAVolunteer]

Kind of like politicians, number crunchers, and bureucrats telling us how much money we need, how many FF's are needed on apparatus, etc.

To a certain point, the officer's should be well-outfitted in terms of gear. What that point is, who knows?

Sucks, don't it.

Stay Safe

[benford1]

In our deparment, we try to rotate who gets the new gear. The system we are going toward is every 5 years, you get a new set of gear. Of course, the probies get used gear, but as they get more training and start responding more, they get better gear.

The officers we have all have worked up through the ranks from firefighter to Lt, Capt, Asst Chief, or even Chief. They have all been there at one point. Don't give up. If your department is like ours, funds are limited for gear and they have to kinda spread it out a little. Maybe they have an ultimate plan to get everyone new gear eventually.

One idea is to buy a few sets every year. Take the number of people on your roster and divide by 5. Ideally, that would be the number of set you need to buy every year to keep the rotation going. Look at who responds the most. If they don't respond alot, why give them new gear?

Keep fighting. Your day will come when you will be the officer on the scene. And who knows? Maybe you can suggest something about the gear and they will listen!

[CAPN22]

We have 21 members on the dept (volly) Purchase religiously 3 complete sets every year. In theory your gear would be replaced every 7 yrs. How ever replacement is based on What you do and what your gear condition is for what you do.

If you are constantly on the nozzle your going to get your gear replaced faster than the guy who changes out the bottles and hands out water. It's not uncommon that the Chief and Deputy have Gear in great shape or almost new. But no one on the dept complains, as they are the ones that have to face the public everytime we go out. You have to keep up an appearance. Not only that but in the cold or rain,its not uncommon to find loss casualties wearing the the Chiefs and/or D Chiefs coat trying to keep warm and dry while they comprehend whats going on. Our Chief has the newest gloves too. Just because he's always throwing his to someone that lost their's at a scene.

We all have a job to do. And different stess demands for our gear. As long as your gear is right for what your are expected to do and is not comprimised go with it. Your turns comming I'm sure of that.

[RFD220]

Just as benford1 stated the "established" members get the newer stuff and the "enchanted" members get the older. I hate to use veteran vs probie mentality.

But at this point everyone has the same gear. We had a real problem when we first went to the newer gear because not only were we converting from long coats and hip boots to bunker gear, we actually went from yellow coats to black so it kind of ticked some people off that some got the nicer stuff and some were stuck with the older.

Then the problem came up where we had newer members who were larger than others and we had to order them special gear to fit them. "why did so and so get new gear?" WAH!! We actually had one member who complained and whined that he didn't have new gear and really broke everyones chops and when he finally got the new gear he decided he wanted to do strictly EMS and never wore the gear at all!!

[firemtgene74]

YOUR DEPARTMENTS BUY NEW GEAR???? LUCKY YOU

[Jedimike007]

Our dept. replaces entry firefighters gear first. Those able to make entry get gear based on the activity level of the firefighter, senority, and who actually needs new gear.

Am I happy enough with old gear, or officers who get new gear before the firefighters who usually go in? Not really, if the IC wants me putting my life on the line, I'd like to have good turnouts. If the officers gear is crap, then sure replace it. If it's not, then primary entry firemen need it.

[Jmatteau]

NEW GEAR..ROFLMAO. You guys just made my day..New Gear...LMFAO

[DFCSmash]

We buy 3-5 sets yearly. Need is the factor. I went 6 yrs as a lt. without a radio pocket because my gear was bought before all the jackets got them. My new coat showed up in 2000 my bunker pants lasted til 1998, Was told in 98 that I should get a new coat, but my feeling was as one of the guys who usually ran the pump it should go to one of the guys that are in more regularly. The Chief agreed the first 5 times then put his foot down and just did it. But it was in pretty tough shape. Biggest problem we find is that the new guys are never the same size as the ones they are replacing . So here new guys get old gear that fits and veterans get new gear. It works. By the time the new guys need new gear...they're vets. BTW got that first set of Nomex II in 1986. Sure beat rubberized canvas.

[DFCSmash]

One more thing, has any one else noticed that turnout gear shrinks esp. the bunker pants. Order em big and within a couple of years they're too snug

[killerb]

We are a small rural volunteer department, five years old, and with the exception of helmets, gloves, and hoods, all of our structural turnout gear (coats and pants) was acquired as hand-me-downs from other departments.

We anticipate starting to buy new gear this year or next, but will not be able to afford new gear for all 19 people at once.

As we have several older people (age range is from 18 to 72, pretty evenly spaced), it makes sense to us to issue the new gear, as we acquire it, to the people who will most likely find themselves in positions where the gear is most needed:

1. The younger members.
2. The most highly trained members.

For example, our 72 year old member functions as a tanker driver, and our Chief is 67 years old. Both of these individuals contribute greatly to our effectiveness, but neither of them are going to don an airpack and perform an interior attack.

[Brian Dunlap]

In my company we issue New Gear, Pagers, Ect.. Based upon seniority. ~ The officers usually get the new stuff first and than it filters down to the senior firefighter list. ~ We did that when we got leather helmets. Chief and the Asstiants first. The Regular Line Officers Second. And than the Firefighters. ~ It took me about 1 1/2 Years to get mine. ~ We're in the process of replacing our pagers from the Minitor IISV Units to the Minitor III's ~ The Officers are done and the Chief decided that the most active daytime members get them first which has already begun. ~ The remainder of the pagers should be replaced this year. ~ As far as Turn-Out Gear...The Chief re-places gear on an as needed basis. Basically if you need something you go to him and let him know and it's ordered. ~

All in all I think seniority, and rank is the fair way to issue equipment ---At least you know where you stand and when you can anticipate receiving something new