r/Firefighting • u/TigerBack56 • 7d ago

General Discussion Whats your departments dumbest/strangest policy?

So i come from a military background and I know how stupid some policies can be. Our department has a few i can think of but I wanted to here from the community, what is your departments dumbest/strangest legitimate policy?

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u/CapEmDee 7d ago

Banning turnouts from the living quarters when they wont provide laundry service inhouse (gear must be sent to a contractor for cleaning) or properly ensure exhaust extraction or have dedicated gear storage rooms in every firehouse.

You can wear your turnouts in someone else's house, or the store, or a hospital. You can put it in your car or take it home, but god forbid you have your boots and pants next to your rack at night.

The solution to dirty gear is not banning it from the living quarters, the solution to dirty gear is CLEANING THE GEAR..

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u/commissar0617 SPAAMFAA member 7d ago

carcinogens...

4

u/BenThereNDunnThat 7d ago

Yes, cleaning is the solution. You might want to suggest to chief that there are grants available that will pay for extractors and gear dryers in your stations. (That's how we got ours.) Heck, you could even volunteer to write the grant for him since it seems to be a pet issue.

In the meantime, keeping dirty gear out of the residence is pretty reasonable. My gear sits by the truck and at night I walk out in my socks and jump in it. I don't lose any time by putting it on out there and I gain a large portion of the station where I don't have to worry about carcinogens on the floor, furniture, walls and ceiling.

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u/fish1552 FF/EMT who thankfully doesn't have to do medical 6d ago

Also, get online and find the info to build yourself some PVC gear driers. They can be built for a fraction of the commercial ones if the money isn't there.