I need Proof...

[WFDRescue2]

For over 30 years my current department has had "salad Bowl" helmets. Although I've only been on this department for about a year our new chief will allowed the guys to buy their own traditional helmets if we show proof of howw they are better.

I already know that the 1000s & 1010 are great ( I had one at my last Dept.) but now I need proff to sway his opinion.

I know you guys know alot so any help you can give is great...

Thanks..

P.S. Remember this isn't a discussion on why traditional is better than Salad bowl. Just the Proof.

SEE YOU AT THE BIG ONE.


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Rescue Squad #2
"First In ~ Last Out"

[Gill]

WFD,

I know that some of the guys at my department claim that the brim on the salad bowls is too small and that hot water drips down the back of their neck sometimes. They claim that the traditional style brims are bigger and thus would prevent this from occuring. Hope this helps.

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I LOVE THIS JOB!

[David Polikoff]

Have your chief explain to you why the "salad bowl" helmets are better. and do not except "it has always been that way" as an answer. They are both approved by the NFPA that should be good enough. Unless your chief is just a person that holds the position but has no idea what he is doing.

Just my 2 cents

David Polikoff www.workingfire.net

[Ten8_Ten19]

My 2 cents...the Chief shouldn't make you prove they are "better" unless the department is going to buy them for you. If they are NFPA compliant and the right color (if that concerns him) why should he care when you are footing the bill and saving the department $150 a pop on every helmet they don't have to purchase.

[Litch]

I don't think that you will find anything in print demonstrating that any NFPA approved helmet is "better" than any other. In the case of the "salad bowl" vs "traditional" you are comparing apples to oranges - both have advantages and disadvantages. I wouldn't try to make pie out of oranges and I wouldn't want to wear a traditional helmet if most of may calls are rescue calls at vehicle accidents and the like.

[fireeater650]

you should be lucky he's giving you a chance to even prove they are better, in my department we are issued salad bowl helmets and are not allowed to have traditional even if we buy them ourselves, no exceptions at all. I personally like the traditional helmets B/C to me they are better looking helmets, but in my department we all must be "uniform"

[allhands]

I have to agree wholeheartedly with the opinion that all the helmets are NFPA approved and that the Chief shouldn't need more proof than that. I will say that in 11 years in the paid sector I have had 1 helmet, a "NEW YORKER N5A" which I purchased myself. It is a part of me now and it conforms to my head and is extremely comfortable as well as offering what I think is better protection, probably because I feel comfortable wearing it.Prior to my paid status, I was a volunteer and had a **** pot issued to me. In the 6 years I wore it, I was never "at home" with it and had no great faith in it's protective value. After hefting the New Yorker and wearing it I felt safer. I know this is not much "proof" but if your Chief is any sort of traditionalist or values the input and experience of his troops,you could sell him on the idea that your comfort level would be greater wearing a helmet that is better fit and meets the same standards. P.S. The chief is the boss, so convince him or her if you can but always follow orders first and discuss them later.

[da6499]

Being the Chief on a small rural VFD with a very limited budget and a lot of donated equipment I allow the use of any NFPA approved helmet, but because of the diffuculty in maintaining parts I am going to make sure that everyone is issued a common helmet and we will only maintain that style. If they want to use something different then they have to maintain it. That way we meet the requirement of supplying approved PPE, they have a choice, and in the future if they tend to gravitate towards a different style, I can always change to issueing and maintaining the preffered style.

[SafeTrain]

I agree that the traditional style helmets look the best, but what is your motivation....lookng cool or protecting your dome? This may not be your case, but we all know them.....whatever the big city guys do, they want to do. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having or emulating your role model, but you must be practical also. If FDNY was responding to calls in a New Yorker, black tie and tails with fuzzy slippers (not that they would), is that what you would want also? Tradition is a good thing too, but not solely for tradition's sake. If you only want to change for tradition's sake, then maybe you would like a leather bucket, because traditionally that was THE way to deliver water. I'm not trying to badmouth traditional style helmets, just trying to make sure you want one for the right reasons.

P.S. My traditional style helmet that I have now just wont stay on my head right no matter how I adjust it, but my old "salad bowl" always did. Which one do you think protects my dome best?

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Never stop learning, and keep safety first and foremost always!