helmet color! what does it mean????

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Permalink Reply by Robert on May 12, 2008 at 2:28am

our dept. use's white, yellow, red and blue. white = chief , red= capt. and lt. blue= paramedic/emt, yellow = firefighters and rookies alike. cadets have red jumpsuits. and everyone is a safety.

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Permalink Reply by Greenman on May 12, 2008 at 2:56am

Robert,

Yes, everyone is a safety, but who is the Safety Officer? The SO's sole duty is Safety. They ensure operations are being conducted in a safe manner, do a continuous 360degree walk-around and report directly to the IC. If fact the SO is a second set of eyes for the IC with "Safety colored lenses on."

I understand that everyone has a responsibility to conduct they piece of the operation safely, but there has to be some who is looking at the big picture for safety, stepping in when needed to correct a safety issue, or even calling a immediate evacuation because he can see something on the C side which the IC and entry team on the A side cannot.

The IMS calls for a Safety Officer for every incident, often it is the IC due to the small scale of the event. But as soon as that event requires more than a single company, someone needs to be designated as the SO and "put on their Safety Hat." It's just too damn easy for individuals and small teams to get tunnel vision, or not see the big picture for us to rely on "everyone's a safety, so we don't have a Safety Officer."

BTW, I think Safety Officers should wear GREEN Helmets! But since anyone can serve as a Incident Safety Officer, most departments I've seen have a Road Guard Vest with "SAFETY" printed on front and back.

GM

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Permalink Reply by Robert on May 12, 2008 at 6:24pm

We have the safety officers I just neglected to put them in so let me correct myself. Our safety officer is always the senior Paramedic on scene. Therefore they wear a blue helmet. thank you for pointing out my neglect of this important role.

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Permalink Reply by Greenman on May 12, 2008 at 6:29pm

No worries.

GM

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Permalink Reply by TexasFire on May 12, 2008 at 12:11pm

White = Chief and Asst. Chiefs
Red = Captain
Yellow = Lts.
Black = Firefighters
Orange = Trainees and Juniors
Blue = EMS Supervisor

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Permalink Reply by Mike on May 12, 2008 at 2:56pm

I have 3 different variations for my 3 companies

work-
chief, deputies, captains, lieutenants all wear white
sergeants - red
firefighters - yellow

at my volunteer station #1

white - chief/deputy/assistants/captains
yellow - lieutenants
red - firefighters
orange - safety officers
black - juniors/cadets

at my volunteer station #2
white - chief/deputy
red - captain/lieutenants
black - firefighter
blue - junior

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Permalink Reply by Derek Nelson on May 12, 2008 at 8:20pm

Our Department is White red and yellow except when it comes to our wildland gear and they are all red except the Chief who has white. but our structure helmets are White-Chief, Red-Captin and Lt. and yellow for the Firefighters.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Wagner on May 12, 2008 at 9:20pm

White= Chief
Red= Captain or Lt.
Black= Engineer or Firefighter
Orange= Probationary no experience

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Permalink Reply by Eddie on May 13, 2008 at 12:02am

black fireman
red lt
yelow capt
white chief

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Permalink Reply by Jordan Palmer on May 13, 2008 at 10:26am

White- Chief, 1st assistant chief, 2nd assistant
Red- Rescue Chief
Orange- Lieutenants
Yellow- Fire Fighters
Black- Rookies

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Permalink Reply by joe on May 21, 2008 at 8:31am

in my town all the officers and fire marshells wear white , the regular member that are interior certified wear yellow, ever one else wears black meaning jrs, and extterior members, we are looking to change the company officers but i disagree, for a lomhg as i rember a officer wore white and it was like a perk to be a officer, only problem is now that we have new ast. chiefs we get like 21 white lids at a fire if everyone shows up .

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Permalink Reply by James on May 21, 2008 at 10:36am

White-Chief Level
Yellow-Captain
Black-Firefighter
Red-Non Released FF (Non IDLH) (Probie)
Blue-Rescue

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