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As per the guys that say they used the MSAs the reason they look bright is because you haven't used them inside yet. The MSAs automatically dim with 16 light intensities. Plus you could just leave them set to intermitten use if that is an issue with you. My guys have never had an issue the LEDs. They wish that we didn't make them change the batteries at the clock change per SOP but waiting til they die would just make them change one here and one there at every truck check.

for just the trim & tread try: www.mifflinvalley.com for prefab parts, trim, tread & accessories try: www.natsafe.com www.freds2therescue.com www.massarosgearrepair.com trilex I've dealt with all of these guys except Trilex but from other's posts they sound do have a good reputation.

The only true leather helmet out there are the Cairns series and Cairns no longer manufacture "fitted" ones like back in the day when a FF could stop by the Clifton facility and get sized for one. All leathers come with a ratchet liner. They offer two sizes presently Medium (6 1/2 - 7 1/2) & Large (7 5/8 - 8). I would try www.kazafire.com those guys still have leathers on the shelf from before the huge leather price increase back in July so you should be able to get a good price. If you are dead set on getting a fitted one try Donald Power (617) 924-7176 he repairs leathers and sells refurbs. Best of luck.

Your statement is not completely correct. A helmet can not have factory installed Bourkes and be NFPA compliant. There are some floating around out there that have the label but the oops was realised so they stopped labelling them that ways. Here is the reason why: NFPA drip test the helmet goes under the burners, the eye protection can melt but cannot drip below the brim, the bourkes are mounted below the brim hence the helmet fails by default. Next year bourkes are slated to become an "accessory" so they will be exempt. To be NFPA compliant at the moment for eye protection and have bourkes a helmet would need to be purchased with "permanent" mounted goggles and then have the bourkes installed after market. A helmet that is not NFPA compliant can not become NFPA compliant but Cairns will provide you with a letter stating that it meets criteria of a NFPA compliant helmet.

Chimney Flares are no longer available, however check at a mom & pop's hardware store they may have some covered in dust on a shelf. Orion who manufacture Standard Fusees sold the chimney flare business to Rutland Supply a bunch of years ago and the factory burnt down. The last I knew they had no plans on manufacturing them again. I suggest taking a look at the Task Force Tips Chimnet Snuffer. www.tft.com It has treated us well over the last few years. Best of luck.

If you want fast and easy on the pocket Fire End sells Lion who offer an express set of gear called Bravo Express. It comes with the pockets and trim already on it. It comes in standard sizes M, LG, XL & XXL, pants same way but reg inseam & tall. It takes about a week to get with the lettering on it.

CPFD91206 actually brings something new to the discussion that has been avoided but constantly spoken about: THL vs. TPP. Total Heat Loss vs. Thermal Protective Performance. Or what makes your gear breathable and what makes it perform in high temp. These two characters are diametrically opposed, thats why the guy sweating his @ss off all summer is nice and snug on a day like today. The heavier or higher TPP garment will breath less, take more heat, and feel heavier. While the THL garment will not take the heat but it will feel really good in warmer climates because it lets your body heat escape. The breatherable liner materials aren't to off set the shell they are to work as a system and based on the systems' configuration you can see if it fits your needs. A high fire load dept should be basing their system including shell selection differently from a dept with no fire load at all.

What ever you do don't do sign gold I think that stuff looks terrible. As per the comment about the gold leaf on a vinyl that maybe a sign gold or it maybe the covering that some gold leaf artists are using to protect their work. I however have seen a few murals that were painted on a clear film, applied, details hand added once on the rig and another clear film put over it for protection.

There is a price difference between natural & black pbi materials and yes it does have to do with the dying. Especially since Pbi matrix came around the Pbi natural was out for awhile befor Pbi Matrix in black came out because it was so hard to dye. You won't see the price difference with any of the other materials (nomex, advance, fusion) because they all have to be dyed. Please refer to the old conversation, there is alot of good stuff talked about.

When I bought my leather boots they were the same way. They were tight on the top of my foot and made the pop sound when I tried to take my foot out. If they are so tight that they hurt get rid of them but if they aren't that tight it will just take 6-8 good wearings for them to stretch naturally. But also you didn't mention what make or model because some boots like the Haix Fire Hunters & the Black Diamond 0975 are both designed with a heel lock system so they will always be tough to get off.

West Haven also use to have a bunkie program, and my old roomates use to ride as firefighters there once or twice a week. The only draw back of being a bunkie is that you won't experience college, so if you want to do both do what my old roomates did. WHFD even put them through Firefighter 1, this was back when guys were still just taking essentials in NYS. There are also alot of great intern oppurtunities in the greater New Haven area. I'm going to be in New Haven/West Haven hitting it hard thursday & friday, I'll stop by UNH and get some updates on the ride along & bunkie thing and ask a few of the brothers how things have changed at the school class & activity wise.

sorry about that, i know it was Anna something I still remember that when i looked at it the two things that impressed me most 1. that they had collective bargaining as a class and 2. they had like 4 times more females than males.

GFD538 A/C are you kidding me? my alumni donations go towards A/C in the dorms, damn in sheffield you use not be about to control your own apt's temp and the heat use to be on in the summer before they fixed that. Like I personally believe, its what you make of it but thats any school. Back in the day the tours would just stop by and alot of the rooms were still wrecked from the night before and we use to have a post we would put up that said "thank you for leaving your daughters" and no one ever stopped us, I guess thats the new image, take an unscheduled day trip I'll hook you up with some guys to give you a tour

I'm a graduate from UNH, and when I was looking the only other NY north was in MA. I think it was Santa Anna or something. Anyways I must say that UNH has grown tremendously since I left. They have added additional fire science labs and are planning big things for the educational side. Since 2002 they have added 3 new dorms, so alot of the living facilities are modern. I'm not sure if GFD538 would agree but when I went there it was a suitcase college where everyone left on the weekends and I know UNH's social side is a little down with recent crackdowns at other New Haven regional universities. I suggest you make the trip up there its not very far, if you call them the school will give a tour and set you up for an overnight stay but if want I can put you in touch with alot of guys I still know there so you can see the other side and don't worry when you first arrive in West Haven you'll get use to living in the ghetto.

do you know anything else about this guy Sam. where is he located or any contact info my fire company is in dier need of a new firehouse and fundraising isn't cutting it. Please hook a brother up.

I totally agree with RichC. In order the gear items I upgraded is 1. Old N5A, was allowed to wear so it was a waste of money 2. H-Back style suspenders, great investment 3. Leather boots, an even better investment 4. better gloves 5. N6A leather, more emotionally pleasing than pratical. My leather boots are definantlt the most pratical and worth while purchase I've made but my leather is still the most fullfilling purchase and I trust it with my life thats why I protect what little brains God gave me with it

After attending the NYSAFC seminar, featuring Mike Dugan, last week I stating thinking about what speakers I enjoyed and learned from. So I was wondering who have you learned from or enjoyed? Is it a national name like: Mike Dugan, Bob Pressler, John Salka, Butch Cobb, Tim Sendelbach or is it a local name? Please support your post if you wish to contribute.

the pros & cons are: 1010 pros - light weight, seperatable impact cap, great thermal protection, good impact protect (1000 is better though), no absorption, low maintence, inexpensive 1010 cons - wide brim, can ride a little high even after being adjusted correctly, over all height is high; Cairns leathers pro - the best impact protection available the leather acts like a catcher's mit from falling objects like slate tiles thats why they're huge in new england, good strength in leather cons - will absorb chemicals, heavy, need constant up keep, expensive I wear a N6A Sam Houston leather w/ bourkes & ESS detachable goggles, I also own a 1010 w/ full faceshield & an old N5A no brain bucket and I am issued a 660C metro w/ full faceshield. I have worn them all, i theory the 660C is the best of the bunch weight, size and design but I love my leather and am will to take care of it so it takes care of me not ruin it just to look cool

I have used the following tools in my time: Hurst, Holmatro, Amkus, Lukas & Phoenix. I think thats everyone but TNT. I personally think the new Holmatro stuff is the cat's tail but thats not the reasoning for this post its a question to other Hurst users. My FD has Hurst and we recently go a new O cutter and the tool gets extremely hot, I mean hot enough to burn bare skin. Has anyone else had this happen. The dealer we deal with out of NJ sent us a letter saying that it is not an issue and Hurst is aware of it. Any input??

As per the Scott Eagle 1. I wouldn't even consider it. Its heavy, small screen, okay field of view, not ergonomic, and most of all a BST sensor. With that sensor it just can't hang anymore. Plus there are so many microbolometer TICs that you can get for approximately the same $. My personal opinion is that the MSA Evolution 5200 is the best TIC on the market. Don't get me wrong the Bullard is a good TIC but I don't think its the best. I will support this statement, the MSA has a bigger field of view, extra safety features, larger display (actually measure the T3Max its not 3.5"), instant on, wider range in high sense mode and higher low sense mode all in package of the same weight. I took the Safe IR class and was able to compare them side by side. From all the research I've done I can say that there are alot of great features offered by alot of different TIC manufactures so my camera of choice may not be for you but I feel it fits the bill best for all around use.

My dept which is out of Westchester does the following: Chiefs = white; line officers = yellow; firefighters = black; new member probationary & <18 yr probationary = orange; we have also implented that all black helmet FFs have large colored triangles on the back of their helmets. Red triangle = interior & Yellow triangle = extrication. With these large 4"w x 6"h scotchlite triangles you see who is where they don't belong from a great distance.

Any natural color fiber is the way to go whether its Pbi, Pbi Matrix, Pbi Plus, Fusion, or Milenia. (Gold advance is dyed so its not a natural fiber also because its dyed it has poor color fastness & UV rays attack it easily because if all the kevlar in the mix) These materials are great because they do show wear and as for the cleaning I'll agree with everyone about biohazards but also the soot and dirt does not allow the gear to work as a system like its designed. The liner is meant to breath so soiled gear's THL (total heat loss) is reduced and it adds stress to the wearer. A soiled or contaminated moisture or thermal barrier can also pose a problem because of liquid getting through to the user. I have personally used black my whole life so the heat thing is kinda a moot point because it you'vr never known better, kinda like FD that still have steel & aluminum cylinders. But here's something to think about dept that are progressive and use a nice pbi shell or something but still put leather reinforcement on the gear. Leather is a pain to decon, absorbs moisture and increases working weight. Oh and LA uses yellow material and those stupid little hard hat helmets but thats another thread.

Har Rob is out of East Syracuse and its not the most pleasing looking of places. They are a Smeal dealership and some second rate tanker dealership. They do have at least one or two salesmen in the Monroe area. For the number of trucks that Woodbury has thats totally reasonable and common to send a tech 4 hours away and have him stay over night and do a whole fleet in the course of a week.

Guys actually RD Murray will become one of the primary facilities it sounds like they will be going down to 3 facilities RD, Casper and LTI. The offices sound like they will go to LTI since they have the room. The Charleston facility in the current market is worth alot more as an over the road assembly line. No one spends millions and millions of dollars to close down a business. And remember Pierce has been bought and sold plenty of times and it is still around strong.

The easy answer is no. The two reasons are insurance and agency status/affiliation. When I say status I mean federal ID # etc. There is a large unitarian (or what ever they are) compound by my district and they have a "fire brigade" teh county coordinater tried to push them through to get them into a class but the insurance thing became a huge deal. The only way would be to lie cheat and steal.