Schuylkill County Fire Chiefs Association

Standard Operating Guidelines

Personal Protective Equipment

I. Purpose

To establish the minimum personal protective clothing and equipment necessary for operating in various capacities within the normal duties assigned to firefighters.

II. Scope

This will detail the minimum requirements for fire police, firefighters in support roles, structural firefighters, and E.M.T.’s. Additional information pertains to instances such as non-fire search and rescue, natural cover fire and non-emergency use of power tools.

III. Requirements

These are minimum and may be exceeded at the companies discretion If the information refers to N.F.P.A. standards, the equipment or clothing is considered to comply if it were compliant at the time of purchase from a supplier.

A. Fire Police

·  Fire Police Badge - must be visible on outermost garment

·  Traffic Vest - Florescent Orange w/ reflective striping

·  Hard Hat - white

·  Flashlight with traffic wand

·  Flag - orange

·  Flares

B. Firefighter - General / Support Operations

·  Bunker Coat - thermal protective, firefighter style

·  Helmet - Firefighter style w/ eye protection available

·  Boots (day)

·  Gloves - leather firefighter

C. Firefighter - Structural

·  Bunker Coat - NFPA 1971 - thermal protective with all liners in place and collar in up position

·  Bunker Pants - NFPA 1971 - thermal protective with all liners in place

·  Helmet - NFPA 1972 - with ear flaps down

·  Gloves - NFPA 1973

·  Bunker Boots - NFPA 1974

·  Hood - Thermal protective type

·  SCBA - open circuit - NFPA

·  P.A.S.S. - NFPA 1982

· 

D. Emergency Medical Technicians

·  Surgical rubber gloves

·  Surgical mask

·  Eye protection

E. Natural Cover Firefighting

·  Long Sleeve Shirt

·  Pants

·  Leather Boots

·  Hard Hat

·  Leather Work Gloves

·  Eye Protection

F. Apparatus Operators

1. Outside of the Incident Scene Perimeter (ISP)

·  Traffic Vest - Florescent Orange w/ reflective striping

·  Helmet

·  Gloves

·  Boots

2. Inside of the Incident Scene Perimeter (ISP) **

·  Bunker Coat

·  Helmet

·  Gloves

·  Boots

** If the possibility of air borne contaminants exist, a Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) must be employed.