What's in your pockets/

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Permalink Reply by Ironhorse on February 8, 2008 at 9:44pm

Simple as much as you can fit. Youll always find somethin else you need to carry. see picture

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• tools2.jpg, 139 KB

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Permalink Reply by D.C. Sterbenz on February 12, 2008 at 1:09pm

Hey there great question, I just finished reading an article on that in the Fire Apparatus and Emergency Equipment magazine-January 2008 pg-18. I for one carry two wedges, leatherman tool, folding pocket spanner wrench. I carry on my trucker belt an axe, flashlight, and the TEC. Sometimes I may carry more depending on the situation but this usually gets the job done.

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Permalink Reply by Dave on February 12, 2008 at 10:07pm

Hey there brothers,
I carry too much at times my coat must weigh 30lbs. But like most I want to have it on me, not ask someone else for it or god for bid go back to the rig for it. I carry 35' of 1" tubular webbing, a leatherman, multi tip screwdriver, a gator grip type socket w/driver, a shove knife, vise grips and key tool for through the lock, electrical tape, 6 yellow and red wire nuts, a double drop elevator key, "Klien" side cutters with double insulation, lollypop door hangers(on the hinges), window punch, seat belt cutter,a construction crayon in a metal cigar tube(its good for marking searched area's and for making triage markings on car windows in multi-car mva's or where to have guy's make cuts.) and at least a half a bag of REDMAN chew ( never know how long your going to be on a scene)and a beaner to hold a spaner wrench (with a gas shut off slot in it)on my pants. on my coat a also have a surv-light and on my helmet i have 3-4 16p nails to keep doors open and a small mag light and two sprinkler wedges behind my frontice piece. I think thats all. Do you think thats too much? lol lol

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Permalink Reply by Truck on February 15, 2008 at 5:55pm

Been told I carry a lot, yet I use it all, and still have plenty of room left over. (when you weight 220, an extra Vise grip or something isn't going to break you)

Also read something a few months ago, I've been doing it this way, but it was interesting to read about it. Organize your pockets like you organize compartment doors on apparatus. One pocket for fire, one for rescue, one for safety devices, etc... I often see people digging around in all their pockets to find something, kinda irritating, like sending someone to the rig for a tool and you hear 3 or 4 door slam till they return.

Anyways. Here is what I carry

Helmet- rubber band, garrity flashlight, two small wood wedges, couple of nails and ear plugs kept up in the webbing

Coat- personal Suvivor flashlight (don't trust B shift to charge the ones on the truck)
Left pocket- safety goggles, leather work gloves (for overhaul or dirty work), Copenhagen
Right pocket- window punch, shove knife, extra medical gloves

Pants
Left Pocket (Rescue Pocket)- extrication gloves, prusik cord, tool roll (w/ Vise Grips, tin snips, 2 screw drivers (+/-), two crescent wrenches, and an Allen Wrench set)
Right Pocket (Fire Pocket)- fire gloves, two large door wedges, 12' webbing, backup tiny LED flashlight
Truck Belt w/ tag line (great for blind searches)

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Permalink Reply by Robert Owens on February 20, 2008 at 10:44pm

Here is what I got.

Coat: 15 feet 1 inch weebing w/carabineer,Safety glasses,door chocks,electrical tape,2 pairs of work gloves,note pad,pen,permanent marker,extra carabineer,fire gloves, and ems gloves.

Pants: 20 feet 2 inch weebing w/carabineer,trauma sheers,gerber multi tool,changeable screw driver,serated edge knife,pliers modified with key tool ends,cable cutters,folding spanner wrenches.

Bag: ( I carry this on the rig and have in it extra odd ball stuff) extra hood,pair of socks,towel,measuring wheel,wire bursh,wd40,pens,note pad.

I also carry a 50 foot bag of rope with a carabineer that I attach to my air pack and my own vulcan box light.

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Permalink Reply by Ted Bownas on April 6, 2008 at 5:28pm

Hope you do something innovative with the WD-40 so it doesn't get on the extra hood and socks...phew!

I carry a can in my toolbox in my truck, and it always seems like everything in the box smells like WD-40...:-)

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Permalink Reply by Chicfirefighter on April 5, 2008 at 11:30am

Im glad to hear you have as much stuff in your pockets as I do. My engine capt calls me the tool box chick. On top of what you have mentioned I like to have smaller wedges for sprinklers and a fold up screw driver for those high rise alarm resets.

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Permalink Reply by Ted Bownas on April 6, 2008 at 5:32pm

A little folding Allen wrench set is great for that...I've also seen a little folding screwdriver kit that looks and carries like a pocketknife..very handy for switch or outlet plates or electrical panel covers...don't try to pry with it, though.

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Permalink Reply by Mick Mayers on April 6, 2008 at 6:57pm

One thing I always carry is a spoon. It's no cheapo plastic spoon, it's a real live stainless spoon. I get rookies asking me all the time why.

Well, if you're stuck on a scene forever and someone brings you food you can eat with a fork, and you don't have a fork, things are alright, just eat with your hands. But if it's something you need a spoon for, and you don't have a spoon, you're just screwed.

And I have used the end of the spoon as a screwdriver when I couldn't get to a real one.

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Permalink Reply by josh slagel on April 6, 2008 at 10:10pm

I carry a folding spanner wrench 15ft of 1 in tubeular webbing and one locking beiner glow chalk wedges windo punch and a seat belt cutter structer gloves along with rescue and rope gloves battery wrench and two flashlights one on my helmet and one on my coat .

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Searfoss on April 11, 2008 at 9:03am

Hello Brothers and Sisters,
I carry most of what was mentioned earlier. I do carry one additional item that I don't think anyone mentioned. I carry a hot pen. This determines if electrical wiring is energized or not. I bought it all LOWE's for 6 dollars. It has a little AAA battery. I have used it several times. It was a great stocking stuffer from my wife. My relief pulled my coat off the rig at shift change and he said "your coat weights a ton. What's in it?" I showed him and he now carries most of what I carry. We need to be prepared for anything. Be safe, Jay

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Permalink Reply by Russ on May 2, 2008 at 10:07pm

i had a zipped codura nylon bag (pretty tough material) that i used to clip on the SCBA waist belt. in it i had a lot of what everyone else has listed including a brass whistle (try shouting from a window on the 5th floor), door and sprinkler chocks, explosion proof flashlight(home depot), allen key set, gerber tool, ear plugs, work gloves, safety glasses, 2 oversize carabiners, 25' of one inch flat webbing-(trust me you want the flat), 2- N95 masks, shove knife(saved my ass many times), auto centerpunch(because i dont believe in waiting for the locksmith on hot days in florida), A home made piece of windshild wiper arm that was bent into an "L"-6" on the vertical and 1" on the short end. i got that from a guy at a seminar who flatened, shaped one end to fit into slots like door locks and stuff and one more thing, it could not be broken. the steel we used was the good tough thick windshield wiper arm, sometimes it just came in handy.

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