Firefighting PPE: Fact, Fiction, and Crossing the Barriers to Reality
圣安东尼奥（德克萨斯州）消防局的吉姆·里迪中尉。
4月23日，星期四，下午1：30-3：15，房间243-245。
“Dirty PPE Is Not Cool, But Dangerous!”
“As a firefighter, I’ve always felt the end users, the line firefighters, have been under-informed and under-represented when it comes to their firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE),” said Lieutenant Jim Reidy (San Antonio (TX) Fire Department). He presented “Firefighting PPE: Fact, Fiction, and Crossing the Barriers to Reality” at FDIC International, Thursday afternoon. It’s his first presentation at the conference, which he has attended since the mid-1990s.
He was first asked to present on this topic at the 2013 IAFF Redmond Symposium. The presentation has evolved into a look at a wider range of PPE protection issues, along with some answers about perceptions firefighters have about their gear.
“As a result of a surge in job-related cancer cases in San Antonio, along with the death of a firefighter who worked for me, I added a section to the presentation that deals with facts, statistics, research, strategies, and personal stories related to cancer on our job,” Reidy explained.
Reidy说，参加这堂课后，消防员应该更好地了解他的PPE装备如何保护他并对该保护有现实的期望。“他们应该理解为什么肮脏的PPE不酷，但危险。”
他的职业生涯大部分时间都在当地和州一级的消防员健康和安全方面，以及国家消防协会（NFPA）委员会的倡导者。
“I’m just like the people attending the presentations, Reidy says. “I get up and down off the ladder truck every third day. I got involved because I saw the disparity between the people that actually do the job every day and the representation on the various committees that oversee specifications, standards, and laws that affect our gear and equipment. I’m very fortunate and blessed that I have been chosen to fill this role and not only represent firefighters, but also become educated about our gear and then given the ability to pass that information on to the end user.”
Regarding the FDIC International experience, Reidy says, “Regardless of how long you’ve been on the job and what rank you’ve achieved, it has something for everyone.” The education side has a wide diversity of subjects presented by top people from all over the country. The trade show is the “see everything there is to see” for services, equipment, PPE, uniforms, vehicles, and apparatus.
