Anonymous

Wow! As an retired Fire Chief and an active Paramedic I find this ammendment to be both disturbing and un-nerving. A firefighter's turnout gear was never intended to, nor has it ever met the requirement for the specified amount of retroreflective trim, or visibility for highway safety. Any argument against wearing the vests is poor at best. A quick review the number of firefighter injuries and fatalities while working on the roadways clearly reveals the fact that roadside incidents are increasing. Face the facts: this IS a problem. Any attempt to jeopardize and circumvent safety is not the answer. The job is dangerous enough. Why undo what has been done in order to attempt to give an "edge" in a volatile sitiuation encountered along the side of a roadway? Somebody took the time to make changes to protect you, show that you care and acknowledge their efforts by taking an extra 15 seconds to don a piece of safety equipment. Why don't we completely regress back into the 1970: let's all start wearing the black rubber raincoats, the orange "fire-ball gloves" and stop wearing our BA's. Let's all start riding on the tailboard and other outside and unprotected positions while we're at it. The numbers are grim; despite the technology, fiefighter fatalities have not changed much. What has changed? The human factor has changed. The choice to NOT utilize what has been provided for you by someone who thinks more of you than you do yourself is unaceptable! Do you you think staffing is an issue now, think about what happens when you are no longer a part of the team. Every Chief Officer has duty to provide for, and preserve the safety of each and every member of the team. Become a leader. Step up to the challenge. Take charge, and enforce the standards or just walk away and let your crews continue to kill themselves since you don't really care anyway. The Fire Department in Worcester Massachusetts has the right idea and should be commended for coming up with this jingle: "When my feet are on the street, the vest is on my chest" Stop arguing, stop fighting and think -- the life you save might very well be your very own.