Seat-Belt use

[ccstation17]

Are there any companies or departments, that have removed SCBA from the cab of their apparatus, to ensure their members seat-belt use?

[Resq1scnd2none]

There should be no need to remove packs to promote seat belt use. It should be automatic. Also, most packs are recessed into the seat so it should not hinder proper seat belt use. And to add, removing the packs could (I say COULD! For all you nay sayers) add delay making an initial attack.

[EFD840]

Check out this thread

[Bones42]

Are there any companies or departments, that have removed SCBA from the cab of their apparatus, to ensure their members seat-belt use?

Not around here.

[firemedic214]

like was said before our packs are recessed into the seat. as an added bonus to wear our seat belt if you die in a MVC while on the fire apperatus and you are wearing your seat belt your family gets around $11,000 more then if not

[MemphisE34a]

There should be no need to remove packs to promote seat belt use. It should be automatic. Also, most packs are recessed into the seat so it should not hinder proper seat belt use. And to add, removing the packs could (I say COULD! For all you nay sayers) add delay making an initial attack.

There should be no doubt about it, moving air packs back into the compartments WOULD delay fire attack. How could it not??

For me the problem is not the seatbelt. Its the new airpack bracket that is being installed that is NFPA compliant. The pack only leans up against an unsecure angled piece of metal. It is not secure until you use the super g force rated webbing to hold it in place.

To me another example of something something that may have been good intentioned that has gone too far and is actually making things worse.

Why use airpacks as the item to try an attempt to get people to wear a seatbelt?? If the NFPA committee wanted to do something right, they would make your airpack easier to get into, not harder and make apparatus manufacturers put audible or other devices on apparatus to require seatbelt useage much like in automobiles.

[fdsq10]

Why are you placing a dollar value on the use of seat belts, the bottom line is use them that's why they are there, BONUS OR NO BONUS. So are you saying prior to placing a dollar value on the use of the belts you were not wearing them? then you say it's an added BONUS, I'm sorry thats just plain crazy and stupid. STAY SAFE!!!

[Bones42]

Right or wrong...

We just retrofitted our seats with the "safety" strap for all the scba's. From talking with people, they complained of forgetting to release the strap and then being stuck in their seats. We decided to have the safety strap go over the shoulder straps, it holds them in place and you simply can't forget to release the strap. Of course, that also means the strap is released prior to sitting down, which is not a problem for us. Guys climb in, release the strap, slip the shoulder straps on, loosely strap the harness waist belt in place, then pull their seatbelts across. Get to scene, they release the seat belt and get up, having their SCBA on their back. Once they step off the truck, they make a quick tightening and are good to go.

What is so difficult here?

[CaptainMikey]

I have tried it many times, I can pack up completley with no problems and still wear my seat belt.

[ccstation17]

I agree with you, that there should be no question, that it is simple to wear your seat belt enroute to a call, but all I hear is excuses why they can't.

I am not an officer, but if I was, the apparatus wouldn't move untill everyone was belted in.

[Bones42]

I am not an officer, but if I was, the apparatus wouldn't move untill everyone was belted in.

NFFF Life Safety Initiatives....

4. All firefighters must be empowered to stop unsafe practices.

[cozmosis]

What is so difficult here?

In our new engine, we've have multiple issues with getting the strap to release. I, too, wish that we could go back to the full bracket that held the bottles in place instead of this lean-to bracket.

[Oldrookie611]

I am not an officer, but if I was, the apparatus wouldn't move untill everyone was belted in.[/QUOTE]

AMEN BROTHER!!! Just wear them. Like with anything that is new, it takes practice. Get ALL of your gear on and snapped or zipped, get on the rig, slide into position with the SCBA and put your seat belt on. Have someone time you. PRACTICE, PRACTICE,PRACTICE. Lets all go home at the end of the shift. NO EXCUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PERIOD.

[NJFFSA16]

And then there is Mark....

Firefighter opts for jail over fine for not wearing seat belt
By JIM SUHR
Associated Press Writer
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Mark Bohnenstiehl admits the irony of
his stance: A volunteer firefighter who doesn't wear a seat belt
because he believes they can be dangerous and should be a matter of
personal choice.
He went to the Madison County jail this week to punctuate his
resolve.
Given the option Wednesday of paying a $55 fine or doing a half
day of community service to settle a July 13 ticket for not wearing
a seat belt, he balked and soon found himself secured tightly in
the county jail for contempt.
Bohnenstiehl was ordered freed Thursday by the judge, ending
without apology his 20-hour stay behind bars. The confinement was
to have run through Friday.
"Seat belts are good and they do save lives, no doubt about
it," Bohnenstiehl, 51, said outside his rural home near this St.
Louis suburb. "I don't wear one, and it should be a matter of
choice."
Federal highway safety agencies long have recommended that
safety belts always be worn, even in vehicles equipped with air
bags. But Bohnenstiehl said he believes seat belts can prevent
motorists from escaping burning vehicles.
In court, Bohnenstiehl never mentioned that he was a firefighter
or why he refused the fine or community service offered by a
prosecutor.
So he was led away in handcuffs.
But on Thursday, he explained himself, saying he didn't think he
owed a fine and didn't want to do community service because of the
ticket from the Illinois State Police.
"I didn't feel I owed the community for not wearing a seat
belt," he said. "It just kind of rubbed me the wrong way."
The judge, Janet Heflin, declined to discuss the case Thursday,
citing ethical grounds.
Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
reported that last year's overall traffic fatality rate nationwide
was up for the first time in two decades. About 55 percent of the
passenger vehicle occupants killed were not wearing seat belts, the
agency said.
"The statistics do show that seat belts save lives," said
Terry Ford, vice president of the Illinois Firefighters
Association, which represents about 24,000 firefighters statewide.
Ford has heard opinions similar to Bohnenstiehl's from other
emergency responders, typically from police who say they don't wear
seat belts because the safety devices frustrate their access to
their weapons if they were attacked.
"There have been cases where seat belt use was detrimental,"
but such instances are rare, Ford said.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[BFDNJFF]

Seatbelts ? What are they ?