Once you become a firefighter, you'll find that your fire department will provide almost all of the equipment you will need. After some experience as a firefighter, you may find there are some additional pieces of equipment you may want to buy yourself to supplement the gear that your department supplies.
In general, your firefighter equipment will consist of:
Boots The boots you are issued may be fire boots, bunker boots and/or turnout boots.
Fire helmet There are a number of different kinds of fire helmets you may be issued depending on your fire department and your assigned task. Among these are the Technical rescue and USAR Helmet, the Traditional Fire Helmet, the Traditional Fire Helmet with NFPA Approved Easy Flip Face Shield the Leather Fire Helmet, the Leather Fire Helmet with ESS Goggles and the Modern Fire Helmet with Six-Inch Face Shield. There are also the Metro fire helmet with 4” Tuffshield the fire helmet with 4” Tuffshield and the innovator's fire helmet with 4” Tuffshield.
Fire gloves There are also many different kinds of firefighting gloves available, including extriction gloves, structural fire gloves and technical rescue gloves. In addition to these, there are certified blood-borne pathogen resistant gloves, Armortex extraction gloves, cowhide gloves, barrier gloves, kangaroo fire gloves and others to numerous to mention.
Lights The most common kind of handheld lights used by fire departments today are LED lights, some of which can throw a beam as far as one mile. There are lights called box lights, right-angle lights, fire and tactical hands-free lights, headlamps, and the traditional flashlights such as those manufactured by Maglight.
Clothing You'll also be issued a variety of firefighting apparel, most of which will be made of Kevlar and Nomex. This will include pants, suspenders, protective jumpsuits, protective coats or turnout coats, safety vests and chaps, and rain gear
Other equipment Other firefighter equipment includes radio harnesses, fire goggles, firefighter bags, hoods, respirators, air tanks and scuba masks.
Naturally, the fire clothing and ancillary equipment you will be using will depend on whether you are fighting a fire, performing a water rescue, or doing an extraction, etc.
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