turnout gear colors

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Permalink Reply by Rev. Ryan Riley on January 7, 2009 at 6:04am

I like the Tan....It is more visible and cooler in the heat. The Black however shows heat damage easier.

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Permalink Reply by Tommy Warshaw on January 7, 2009 at 6:35am

We wear tan here. I have no preference though. As long as what their issuing me is keeping me safe, I couldn't care less if its chartreuse. Well, actually not, but you get the idea.

Simply based on looks alone though? Growing up and seeing most of the FFs in the NJ/NY area wearing black gear I've always thought it looked sharp and long associated that color of gear with firefighting.

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Permalink Reply by Captain Frazier on January 9, 2009 at 9:25am

My department uses yellow with orange/silver/orange triple stripe. I prefer along with several others on my department black with lime/silver/lime triple stripe.

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Permalink Reply by Chris on January 9, 2009 at 1:14pm

We use tan with yellow and silver reflective for FF an ENG and tan with orange and silver reflective for officers.

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Permalink Reply by Wilsy on January 9, 2009 at 1:21pm

I have never understood the reasoning behind different colour gear for officers they already have different helmets if you want the change just add there title to the back of their jacket instead of getting entirely new gear for them when promoted to officer, in the end it will save money.

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Permalink Reply by turk182 on January 11, 2009 at 2:28pm

In my department well all have the same color gear the officers have different colored helmets.

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Permalink Reply by Tommy Warshaw on January 11, 2009 at 2:37pm

We were that way, until someone had the bright idea that officers should have different colored gear too so they (at least at the volunteer county stations...city station haven't changed so far) now have orange reflective stripes instead of the yellow ones like the rest of us wear. IMO, it's needless money spent on something that's really hard to quantify the benefits of.

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Permalink Reply by Glen Garland on January 12, 2009 at 1:37pm

More important than color is the material for the outer shell, vapor barrier and thermal liner. Outer shell material may limit your color choice depending on what selection is made. Hopefully all the guys in your company are more concerned with performance than color (looks). Also don't skimp on the reflective trim. I understand at some point preferences come into play but they should not be placed above proper performance specs. Tan will show more staining even with frequent washings...black doesn't show the staining but that also makes it harder to see contaminents esp. the nasty ones like blood/body fluids if your dept. does any EMS, rescue or extrication. That's simply my 2 cents worth and we welcome yours...

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on January 12, 2009 at 3:05pm

tan is nicer for us not only because its easier to see but because it gets SOO hot down in south texas so the black would just kill us in the heat even more! so I am all for the the tan!

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Permalink Reply by sacramento fire buffs on January 12, 2009 at 3:13pm

ok take it from this point in the summer time when it is 120+ out side your in black gear and you come out of the fire to cool off and rehab the black will not help you out at all. most departments will let you take off the jacket but not the pants so you will still be hot .
go with the yellow or PBI they are better.

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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on January 12, 2009 at 3:39pm

when it is 120+ outside the only thing that will help you out in rehab is to REMOVE the gear. Having Tan or black gear at this point would be null and void.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on January 12, 2009 at 3:36pm

Yellow with reflective strips......Paul

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