Ever wonder how firefighter’s protective gear is manufactured? Well, three of our staff members went to Morning Pride, a gear manufacturer to view their processes. We are always in the process of evaluating our suppliers and their processes. As we look for ways to keep our firefighters as safe as possible in all facets of their duties, turnout gear often comes under scrutiny. Is there better gear, more cost effective gear and so on.
Recently the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) released a new standard that will become effective in early 2006. The standard is extensive in it’s coverage of all aspects of turnout gear. One of the more critical pieces of the standard is tracking the gear throughout its useful life for how often it is professionally cleaned and repaired. This new standard creates an additional level of reporting and record keeping that will further burden organizations that provide fire protection services.
Morning Pride has responded to the new mandates with an innovative program that includes providing the gear and all required reporting requirements throughout the life of the gear. This could be a great program for us and similarly staffed fire departments.
We are considering their system for use and wanted to visit their plant and their people to get a first-hand view of the entire process. Included in the visit was a tour of the facility where gear is made. The pictures are from that visit.
