Summer heat !!

[wilderness]

How do you handle the heat in the summer, on a fire scene in full turnout gear , how do you keep yourself cool and prevent over heating.........

[g-01]

REHAB!

Frequent and effective rehab. Re-hydration and rest. Take your coat off and have your vitals checked. If available (ie; not being used) turn the PPV fan on you.

If you are fighting a wildland fire, get the turnouts off and put on coveralls.


Hope this helps

Scotty

[Whitewater_419]

It's a good idea to have someone on scene being responsible for bringing water around to other firefighters on the scene, too, to ensure hydration of everyone.

Our captains and deputy chief are pretty darned good at making sure there's water passed around at regular intervals.

On the longer fires, there seems to be, more often than not, a group of volunteers who will also bring drinks and food for the crew to keep topped up, energy-wise.

(We work in a *great* community :) )

-Marc

[Michael13]

YA, grass fire we use coveralls and every truck has bottled water on it. And if it a major fire we use mutual aid so nobody has to do a long shift with a SCBA and we get longer brakes cause theres more men to go around. I keep water in my pick-up to drink on the way to the hall, cause if you ae already dehydrated when you climb out of then truck on scene then its too late. And ya getting that gear off, and sitting in the shade helps. And our rescue unit has air conditoning, and so does our Command centre, whenever its on scene.

[WFD999]

Hydration is the key. We Carry Two full flats of water on each rig. In our SOPs , We can loose our bunker coats if a grass fire But keep the rest of our PPE on. Sector commanders are responable for cycleing personell trough re-Hab. If It takes more than 15 minutes to extinguish the fire we call for our medical co-responders to come out if they are not able we order out a BLS unit from EMS. To monitor Vitals.

Play Safe.

[Rookie_101]

We cary lots of water on the rescue truck, and if we're out for an extended time my girlfriend and some of the other meber's wives will bring us water and cookies and all that stuff, and hot coffee in the winter :) Man, are we spoiled or what?

[MFDFF33]

We keep lots of water, and if it's a scene that we'll be there for a long time we have people to do runs for us to replenish the supplies... I'm trying to convince the Chief and Dept to vote on some Rehab Chairs to help cool down ;)

[Bootstraps]

We also have lots of water on hand as many of you do. In rehab we also have our ppl at least open up there bunker pants to get as much heat out as possible.

We have also tryed to incourage our ppl to stay hydrated all the time. Starting with a full tank is always better than starting off slightly dehydrated.

[dentedhead]

We also have lots of water on hand as many of you do. In rehab we also have our ppl at least open up there bunker pants to get as much heat out as possible.

We have also tryed to incourage our ppl to stay hydrated all the time. Starting with a full tank is always better than starting off slightly dehydrated.

This is very true.You should be drinking water constatntly in the hot weather.We always have a bottle in our back pocket around the hall.Take plenty in before you have to play catch up.

Its also a good idea to throw some gatorade powder in the truck.

Dentedhead

[Toxic]

I tend to bitch a lot.:)
And we always have a case of water in the pump and the rescue.

[iamvff]

We have cases of bottled water, which I always make sure everyone on scene gets one, after we have things under control. I also try to make sure everyone has a bit of down time to re-coop. Plus, we usually have a few bags of chocolate bars in the rescue, but I am thinking of switching that to granola bars. The energy boost is supposed to be far longer lasting.

iamvff

[DCharv]

During a eoods or grass fire we wear coveralls, hard hats instead of fire helmets, and regular work gloves and work boots (for those who wish to bring their own). If I'm in charge of a sector I'll make sure all firefighters take a couple of bottles of water with them since usually we're working a fair distance from the trucks. Often I'll try and carry a knapsack of some sorts with extra water with me.

[Toxic]

Plus, we usually have a few bags of chocolate bars in the rescue, but I am thinking of switching that to granola bars.
iamvff

Don't get me wrong... something to give the guys energy is a good idea. But I just can't get this visual out of mind...Fat albert dressed in turnout sitting on the tailboard exhausted going quick someone get me a chocolate bar. :D

Edit...
This post is in no way meant to offend any heavy set firefighters named Albert.

[iamvff]

Don't get me wrong... something to give the guys energy is a good idea. But I just can't get this visual out of mind...Fat albert dressed in turnout sitting on the tailboard exhausted going quick someone get me a chocolate bar. :D

Edit...
This post is in no way meant to offend any heavy set firefighters named Albert.
Oh, so you've met some of our guys! LOL

iamvff

[Scuba]

mmmm can't wait for summer heat....

[irsqyu]

mmmm can't wait for summer heat....

For sure, and parking your truck in a nice cool wet swamp is a great way to cool off:rofl:

[LTPVFD]

Like everyone else, we carry lots of bottled water on our
apparatus. Regular rehab helps too. While in rehab get that
coat off, and unhook your bunker pants to allow heat to
escape.

If it is a long event, such as a structure fire, we automatically
call for the ambulance service to attend. The paramedics monitor
the vitals, and ensure everyone has adequate recovery time.

Another idea I like it is to have spare dry clothes available, especially
dry socks. Nothing worse than being soaked from sweat, getting back
to the hall, then having to clean up while wearing wet clothes. :eek:
I find dry feet are less prone to blisters, especially if wearing rubber
boots.

Stay safe !!


LTPVFD

[crew]

We rehab often and drink copious amounts of water as well (FYI - Propel Fitness water works great; it's better than water, but not as intense as Gatorade or PowerAde).
In specialized situations like when I am on the Pit Lane of a Champ Car Race where long periods of standing is the norm, we usually have a team member with a cooler filled with Ice Water and terrycloth hand towels. You soak the cloth towel and then wrap it around your neck under your balaclava...very effective. If you have to respond to a fire, you drop the cloth and do your thing.

[arrow]

For some reason all the fire departments here are going to black bunker gear. We had black bunkers when I was a rookie but we got rid of black because it absorbs heat when working in the summer sunshine.

[t_lag]

I don't believe the color of your bunker gear matters in the summer sun. What makes some hotter then others (they are all freakin' hot in the summer!) is the thermal protective performance (tpp) of your gear. It's basically the amount of heat transer through your gear when exposed to heat and radiation.

Here's a couple links:

http://www.firerescue1.com/Columnists/PPEupdate/articles/243864/

http://www2.dupont.com/Personal_Protection/en_US/products/firefighter/firefighter_faq.html

There's a ton of info on the web on this stuff.

[ndvfd_ff33]

Like others have said. Keeping very hydrated. Keeping in the shade or out of the sun as much as possible

[PFD023]

We've got a couple of the Kore Kooler chairs as well. Lots of cold water available. Gotta make sure everyone is drinking the water even before they start feeling thirsty.
I gotta say though, probably the best thing we can do for ourselves in order to cope with the heat is to stay in the best physical condition we can.
Just came back from 2 weeks in central Florida and I wouldn't want to be down there in the summer fighting fires (on second thought I would).....100 F and humid and having to spend time in bunker gear ain't ideal.

[arrow]

well last time I checked the color black absorbs heat more readily than most other colors

[PFD023]

well last time I checked the color black absorbs heat more readily than most other colors
That may be the case but bunker gear is heavily insulated to stop any heat transfer.....the colour shouldn't make a difference on what you feel inside the gear. If you can noticeably feel the difference on the inside of your bunker gear from the sun's rays, imagine how ineffective that gear would be inside a structure fire....you'd be toast. I have to agree with t_lag1125.

[Jon_ACVFD]

That may be the case but bunker gear is heavily insulated to stop any heat transfer.....the colour shouldn't make a difference on what you feel inside the gear. If you can noticeably feel the difference on the inside of your bunker gear from the sun's rays, imagine how ineffective that gear would be inside a structure fire....you'd be toast. I have to agree with t_lag1125.

i have to agree, if there was heat transfer from the outer shell to the inner lining b/c it was black, that would make for some very inefficient bunker gear.