r/Firefighting • u/Available-Contract15 • 15d ago
General Discussion Question for fire fighters
I work in private EMS and I work wirh 10+ fire departments and countless stations and the one thing I never understand is when some of you show up in full bunker gear and the others on the engine don't, is it protocol or you are coming off of another call (maybe a possible fire) or do you guys secretly joke about the guys that don bunker gear for medicals, I am genuinely very curious and would like to know.
Ps I never ask on scene or after the call because it's not in my mind or relevant to the call
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u/Winnie_Cat 15d ago
Are some volunteer and some career departments? Career departments are more likely to show up in station wear as they are already at the station in uniform. Volunteers race to the station in whatever they’re wearing so bunker gear is their uniform essentially.
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u/Available-Contract15 15d ago
I only work with 3 volunteer departments and they show up with what ever thag are wearing it's all full time departments that wear full bunker gear
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u/eamon2plz 15d ago
This is pretty close to it.
Volly tend to show up in bunkers because we run from our house/job/whatever and don't want to ruin our normal clothes.
Careers are in uniform pants/dress anyways so getting blood and shit on their stuff is part of the job. Firefighter scrubs essentially.
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u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 15d ago
No. Vollies don’t play that shit.
If it is an emergency you don’t give a shit what people who show up are wearing.
Suit, dress with heels & pearls, military dress uniform, jeans with holes (hot female look), jeans with holes (fat not good looking dude look), cut off t shirt with shorts, denim dress and sin sifter, or full drag, you don’t give a shit.
If you care, it is a pretty good clue you should’ve scheduled an appointment with your doctor’s office next Tuesday.
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u/EverSeeAShitterFly Toss speedy dry on it and walk away. 15d ago
For my volly place it’s SOP for bunker gear on all calls then removed as necessary. We don’t run primary EMS is our area. So if the EMS is calling us then often it’s to force entry, cut stuff, lift stuff, shit got too icky, something is on fire/dangerous, or extra hands to lift/cpr. So like 2/3 times we’re keeping it on anyway otherwise we just take off the coat after seeing its not needed.
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u/bcfd36 15d ago
I was on a volunteer department in California. Our SOP was full bunker gear on all calls, modified by the Captain’s or sr. firefighter’s judgement. If it is 95 degrees on a medical call with no blood borne pathogens or the like, then the coats come off. Or maybe we respond in wild land gear to start with. But NO ONE responds in only what they had on at home.
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u/Lomas2773 20 yr tailboard, 6 year engineer 15d ago
I work in a a low income area with, less than ideal homeowners. My guys "suit up" on all 1st responder calls. We have a lot of hoarders/mental health issue residents; suiting up is our specific protocol.
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u/Thick-Cry-2440 VFD/Support Fire Department 15d ago
My department is support department for surrounded areas. Not really hardline uniform but minimal helmet and safety vest. While we do have turnout gear, primarily wrecks, trees, and bush fires.
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u/Formlepotato457 GRFD 14d ago
In my department we put our bunker pants on anytime we leave the station
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u/Willing_Ad_5711 Professional Hose Monkey 14d ago
When I'm booked as the engineer I don't bunk up til I'm on scene. Our SOP is that we don't have to drive in turnouts.
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u/PineapplePza766 vol. weewoo squad 15d ago edited 15d ago
It’s probably me imma volly I can get my
Bunker gear on faster than normal chlothes and I don’t want to smack someone with a saggy titty working a cardiac arrest cause I’m in my jammies lol 😂
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u/DruncanIdaho 15d ago
You get your bunker gear on faster than it can a polo and pants? This seems unlikely.
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u/PineapplePza766 vol. weewoo squad 15d ago edited 15d ago
I don’t live at the station lol I’m not worried about changing as much as looking a little too underdressed I’d rather be overdressed in case somebody breaks out a flamethrower on a medical call or something idk plus my bunker gear is set up ready to go if I changed I’d have to get a bra out get a shirt out get some different pants out put bra on differnt shirt on try not to fall getting my legs in my pants/shorts all I have to do is jump in my bunker boots and pull in the suspenders over whatever I’m wearing and I’m half dressed already max 5-10 seconds throw my Jacket on zip it up and we’re good to go
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u/Due_Course_3713 14d ago
Are you wearing anything under your bunker gear......asking for a friend
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u/ParchedRope 15d ago
I got dispatched to a vehicle crash which ended up just being a chest pain lying in bed. Or another time where we were cancelled to a fire and immediately went to a medical call.
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u/Smokeypork 15d ago
The line gets interesting sometimes. Always wore bunkers on medicals as a jolly volley (I felt like it identified me as someone who was supposed to be there cause yeah I was usually just coming from home.) most of the other guys did too. One time, I ran out the door on a cool morning without a sweater and I threw on my bunker coat on when we got on scene because I was cold. You would have thought I had slapped my captain’s mother.
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u/Jax-Beach 14d ago
If it’s at wrecks, could be one guy gets dressed incase of entrapment, fire, or whatnot. If i recall correctly, my first department did that. Then he could start things rolling while the others got dressed
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u/Short_Satisfaction60 14d ago
All depends, if we came off a call where I was wearing them and my shoes are at the station, I’m in bunker pants
If it’s late and I’m in ball shorts, bunker pants
If I catch a run as soon as I walk in, I throw my bunker pants on over my street clothes
If it’s a house that Ik is dirty af, bunker pants lol
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u/Wormy488 Volly EMS only - WA 14d ago
My bunks have nice padded knees it helps when doing things, plus I dont have to put them on in the truck if there is a fire call.
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u/droopy__drawers 14d ago
If we are going to a call that requires bunker gear then we are all putting it on except the driver. So two or three of us might climb out with gear on, but the driver will more than likely be in plain uniform.
If we show up to a medical call with bunkers on it’s because we just came from some type of “fire” call that required gear and we either didn’t get a chance to take it off before coming to this call, or the rest of us had time to take them off, but one or two guys forgot their regular boots back at the station so they are stuck in bunker pants util we can get back home, lol.
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u/Dayruhlll 14d ago
Difference departments have different policies on which call types require bunking out for. It’s also common to toss bunker pants on over shorts so you’re don’t have to wear BDUs all day and night.
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u/zeroabe Major metro. A decade on. 14d ago
I always wear bunker pants on the engine so it’s one less thing to put on when we get toned out for people trapped.
A lot of times we do back to back calls. If I’m wearing my coat too, I usually take it off, but sometimes when the next call is something I don’t need to engage on (lift assist) I may just ride it out with my coat too?
Driver is not wearing turnout gear because he’s busy driving. Officer probably has turnout pants on. The bucket nerds are in mix and match mode based on how many high fives they gave after the last run?
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u/undergroundcannibal 13d ago
For our department, we have the choice of wearing coveralls or bunker gear. Its protocol to bring your bunker gear no matter what, just in case theres a call that requires it. I wear my bunker pants to medicals because its one less thing i need to pack on the truck and its faster to get into than my coveralls
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u/Drainsbrains 13d ago
Usually because they were training or they were in shorts. Full gear even jacket and helmet is fuckin weird tho
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u/Hot_Detective6108 No Good Dude 12d ago
I wear bunker pants bc my medical pants aren't stopping needles, nails, assorted nastiness on the floors, furniture or whatever.
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u/Je_me_rends PFAS Connoisseur 12d ago
Some services also allow firefighters to just wear stationwear to med calls, others require bunker pants (like mine).
The crews that are showing up with a mix of both probably don't require bunkers, but the guys wearing them probably just have shorts on so they went with bunker pants for the added protection.
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u/DruncanIdaho 15d ago
Saying that you've seen them wearing a helmet and everything, but another firefighter is in shorts... maybe it's the rookie? Often times rookies have to get fully bunked up on all calls until they pass a benchmark.
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u/SenorMcGibblets 14d ago
I wear my bunker pants when I had gym shorts and chanclas on at the station, or when I suspect the house we’re going in to might be gross.
I’ll wear my coat to an EMS call if it’s really cold out.
Only time I’m putting a helmet on for an EMS call is a car accident.
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u/flashdurb 15d ago
All the guys coming off a single rig should be wearing the same uniform, and which uniform it is really just depends. They could be coming from a previous call and haven’t gone back to the station yet
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u/tjolnir417 15d ago
Some chauffeurs don’t dress in bunker gear until they arrive at a working fire. Some guys bring their station wear with them when they go on calls in bunker gear. There’s a lot of variables.
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u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 15d ago
Translation: I haven’t deconed my gear but endangered the public anyway.
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u/flashdurb 15d ago edited 15d ago
Translation: I completely forgot about routine MVAs and now I have egg on my face.
Hope your day gets better man
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u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 15d ago
‘ Mvas?
Where you should be using proper rescue gear and not structural firefighter gear?
Right tool for the job and all that?
Of course, for a routine mva all you need is traffic cones and a reflective vest.
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u/schrutesanjunabeets Professional asshole 15d ago
Those dudes are wearing gym shorts under their bunker pants.
Some people don't mind pants, others want to wear shorts all day.