Intercom Headsets in Fire Apparatus

[Skindependent 15]

I thought of this one while reading the posts about the headset that may or may not have been for the spotter in a previous post. In our Engine, every rider has an intercom headset with which to communicate inside the cab without excessive engine noise/siren noise overwhelming the conversation. The headsets for the driver and officer also have the ability to communicate with dispatch and other units without having to use another mic. The discussion that has been brought up has been over the safety of these headsets. Does the attenuation of the noise as a result of the headset of the driver pose a safety hazard by compromising the driver's abilities to hear horns or other noises from other vehicles on the road? Would/wouldn't the siren and apparatus horn drown out those noises anyway, so its a moot point? Could there be extended legal ramifications if the apparatus becomes involved in a collision because of these headsets? Thanks in advance for all of your opinions.

[antiquefirelt 994]

We have one aerial that has headsets for all positions. The driver's set has an opening for ambient noise on the left side ear muff. Our issues were with the radio/intercom interface. This is a David Clark system that never worked well on the radio side. Subsequently the sets have been removed from the driver and officer's positions in favor of being able to hear the IC or dispatch. On the intercom side they work flawlessly and made for a much nicer ride conversing in a normal tone. The same is true when they use the headsets between the bucket and the turntable position. After the issues we had with the aerial we decided to forgo them on future apparatus until a need arose. None of our trucks are too loud to adequately hear the radio or the officer in the cab. I can tell you I've stood on the "Q" and thought it wasn't working while wearing the headset, much to the consternation of the motorists and residents we passed, as the headsets do eliminate that much noise from outside them. I recall years ago an old debate of driving with the window down or not to hear other motorists, which to my knowledge was never settled.

[billfitz 109]

it is a generic headset on the David clark - the open ear for ambient noise can be flipped to the outside ear for the officer -

[gpdexplorer 46]

The driver's headset on my truck only has an "earmuff" on the right side, allowing for the left ear to remain open. The PTT button, in my opinion, is located in a very awkward position. The other downside is the radio traffic and speaking on the intercom over lap each other. Also if the PTT is pressed all mics on the intercom are then transmitted on the radio frequency.