Should your hood & ear flaps be utilized?

What do the ear flaps provide?

 Why do FIREFIGHTERS cut their ear flaps out? Why do FIREFIGHTERS leave them tucked up into their helmets? Why do FIREFIGHTERS purposely not utilize PPE? How would the Modesto Firefighters have turned out if they were not wearing all their PPE?

Talk about this with your crew.  Salty is not COOL at the expense of getting the job done without unnecessary injury. 

What do you think? Do you have FIREFIGHTERS that cut their ear flaps out and/or do not wear hood?

Modesto Firefighter spent 53 days in the Burn Unit. Returned to work Ten Months later. How would it have turned out, if He was not wearing his proper PPE?

8 thoughts on “Should your hood & ear flaps be utilized?

  1. I went to Fire Science class and learned fire is hot. Really do not need my ears to tell me it’s hot. If your Fireground PC (your head) is cool it makes better decisions. Burnt ears cause short circuits.

  2. Helmet from a Fort Walton Beach Firefighter….most definately saved his head from serious burns….1st & 2nd only
    . Would have been much worse if not for wearing the flaps correctly!

  3. We are in a profession that has always idolized the tough. Unfortunately tough does not always mean smart. We have done everything possible to void warranties from ripping the guts out of our helmets to taking our chin straps off. Why? Because we look cooler. The fact is in today’s world insurance companies would love nothing more than to deny our families their money. This is not 1960 when no one was sure of what we do. There are rules and regs that we must follow if we want to take care of our families in the event that we are the next LODD.

  4. Flaps and hoods are part of the ensemble of PPE that has been designed and tested to provide the protection from thermal injury. The notion of “ears are my temperature gauge” needs to be filed away with the old SCBA with low pressure hoses and demand/pressure switches.

    We must wear all protective gear and wear it correctly.

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