Survey of Firefighters’ usage of Ballistic Vests in North America
Abstract
Reports of bullet injuries to firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are often found in media reports and firefighter periodicals. There are also several incidents where firefighters were shot and killed in emergency situations (e.g. domestic violence, civil unrest, active shooter scenarios, etc.) that don’t include fire. First responders must, therefore, be appropriately equipped with ballistic vests to execute multidisciplinary missions that go against the single-discipline paradigms. This paper presents the results of a survey conducted on the current use of ballistic vests by firefighters and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel in North America. The survey results provide information on the types of ballistic vests typically worn, deployment practices, levels of ballistic protection and training practices for firefighters. This paper describes how ballistic vests are worn with turnout gear and identifies the need to consider the effects of wearing ballistic vests on heat strain, interoperability of firefighter gear, as well as potential flammability issues and exposures to thermal threats from flammable materials.
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