Throughout its history, Globe Manufacturing has relied upon the input and real life experiences of firefighters to design the most innovative Personal Protective Equipment in the industry. Whatever the challenge, Globe has been there to find a solution. Read how our collaboration with DC firefighters led to the development of Globe IH Pants.
The issue of greatest importance for Washington, DC Fire Fighters IAFF Local 36 is the health and welfare of its members. Citing past incidents of other jurisdictions, most notably “Black Sunday” (FDNY) and events right here in the District of Columbia, there is a preponderance of evidence that cannot be ignored any longer by our Local and Fire Department leadership alike. The Safety Committee is adamant in its belief that outfitting each member with the integrated harnesses will unequivocally increase their safety.
On January 23, 2005, members of the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) responded to a fire in a 4-story tenement building in the Bronx. Arriving crews were presented with a fire in an apartment on the 3rd floor. As crews were attacking the fire on this floor, members of a truck company and a rescue company proceeded to the floor above (4th floor) to search.
With the loss of water to the attack line on the 3rd floor, the fire extended to the 4th floor, trapping six firefighters in the apartment above the original fire apartment and cutting them off from the public hall as well as the fire escape. Due to the layout of the building and the proximity of other structures, the area where the members were trapped was inaccessible to aerial and ground ladders.
Rapid, uncontrolled fire spread in this apartment gave all six of these firefighters no option but to jump to escape the heat and flames. These firefighters fell approximately 50 feet. Two of the six firefighters suffered fatal injuries, with the other four suffering debilitating injuries. After learning of the incident in the Bronx, several members of our Department (DCFD) began, on their own, to research the possibility of developing and/or purchasing personal escape systems such as the FDNY’s for use by our own Department. These members realized that an event like the incident described above could easily happen here in the District of Columbia.
In fact, in just the past three years, there have been four incidents in DC where a personal safety system or a rescue harness may have been utilized if they had been available. On January 11, 2005, a member fell down a blown-open elevator shaft during a fire in an 11-story apartment building. Firefighters from Rescue 3 and Rescue 1 worked together to lower a rescuer down from the elevator lobby on the 1st basement level to the elevator pit about 15 feet below to access the injured firefighter. The harness they fashioned together resembles the harness to be integrated into the turnout pants. If they had been equipped with a harness with a large ladder carabineer, they may have reached the injured member quicker, easier and safer.
On January 14, 2006, a firefighter was cut off by a flashover in an apartment on the 9th floor of a high rise apartment building.
The firefighter was able to get to a bathroom and close the door, thus buying him some time. Although there was a window in this bathroom, it was not immediately accessible by an aerial ladder. He was eventually rescued by breaching the wall into an adjacent apartment. However, if this member was equipped with a personal escape system, he may very well have been able to utilize it to escape out of the window. In October of 2007, several members became trapped on the roof at a multi-alarm fire on Adams Mill Road. Once again, aerial ladders were not able to reach them. They were forced to fight their way down the stairway bulkhead, which was heavily involved in fire. If they had been equipped with personal escape systems, they could, and most likely would, have utilized them.
On March 13th 2008 at a 5th alarm on Mount Pleasant Street in NW, a member ran out of air and was trapped at a window on the third floor. Although he was eventually rescued by a tower ladder, a personal escape system could have been a viable option for egress.
The initial stages of the research into these systems were unofficial, uncoordinated, and not sanctioned by the department. Despite this fact, members began to purchase systems to test and train with, and also managed to arrange demonstrations of various systems by the manufacture’s sales representatives.
Many different systems and harnesses were tested during this period.
In January of 2008, three members were invited by a sales representative to attend a “Train the Trainer” in Salt Lake City, Utah, the home of the PETZL® Corporation.
During this class, these members had the opportunity to learn about all of the extensive and thorough research, design and testing that went into the development of each of this system’s components. In addition, they received intense and in-depth hands-on training in the use and deployment of the system.
These members also received certifications which qualify them to train other members of our Department in the use of this system. After completing this training, these three members came to the unanimous decision that the PETZL® system was by far the safest, easiest, most dependable and most proven personal escape system available.
With the system selected, it was now time to find the best harness to satisfy our Department’s needs.
Members tried both external/add-on and integrated harnesses. Desirable aspects of the integrated harnesses, especially the one provided by Globe, included reduced weight and ease of donning.
In light of these findings, members came to the conclusion that what would be best is a system that features a lightweight harness that is integrated into the pants, that can be pre-connected to the EXO system, and that only requires one clasp to both fasten the pants and ready the system for service.
Soon after this, the members met with representatives of Globe Fire Suits (the manufacturer of our Extreme Turnout Gear) to see if it would be possible to design an integrated harness system that would meet our demands, and that would incorporate the best features of the Gemtor external harness.
In June of 2008, these members, along with the Local’s Safety Committee and representatives of Risk Management, arranged a meeting with our current gear manufacturer to propose the design. What came out of this proposal was a new design of the Globe Extreme turnout pants that features an integrated harness with a large carabineer, a sliding D-ring that allows the EXO system to be pre-connected to the harness, and a one-step closure that fastens the pants and the harness simultaneously.
In addition, the pants will also feature the pocket pouch that was designed by our own members to hold the EXO system and allow for quick and easy deployment.
In the near future, Globe will be delivering ten sets of these new turnout pants to the Department for testing and field evaluation by our safety committee. It is hoped that after this testing is completed, the Department will gradually begin purchasing these systems and phasing in their issue so that eventually all of our members will be trained and equipped with this equipment.
Local 36’s Safety Committee applauds the efforts of Capt. Troxell, Lt. Carroll and Sgt. Gordon for their diligent research and hard work in a common effort to keep our members safe. After concluding research and empirical testing, our members have designed a system that was pragmatic for the end user and completely functional for our department’s needs. The hard work and ingenuity of our members’ design was quickly recognized by a leading manufacturer of PPE and will soon be made available to members across the country and they will be known as “The DC Fire Harness Pants.”
Local 36 Safety Committee
James Gordon
Chairman
Brian Gray
Chet Barrett
Scott Hudson
Stanley Jaworski
Jan Sipes
Jason Woods
