I would like to get some thoughts from you guys and girls.
Our fire chief called me up and wanted to use some safety equipment (climbing harness and lanyards) to lone to his radio contractor and one of his firemen.
I told him that I had a real problem with loaning safety equipment because my fat butt depended on it be in good shape when I had to climb water towers to do inspections. The short story is that my boss asked me to help FD out and give them the equipment, (the equipment is owned be the city but is purchased by my department) so I gave in and handed over my equipment to them. But ordered new stuff for me they can have the old .To me this is the equivalent of me asking to use FDs first line gear because I needed to burn a brush pile.
My big questions are why would the FD not have this equipment and what would you have said?
I will be hunting for a few days but would like to let ya’ll chew on this until I get back. I will check in on the 27th.

 

The fire co probably would not have a climbing harness unless they were set up to do high angle rescue. Not all fire co have that type of equiptment. I myself would have told them to get there own but I see that you ordered yourself a new set.

 

Donate your old set to them, this way they don't have to ask again.

Wonder what the protocol would be if your stuff came back with damage?

 

if it's not personal protective gear then they should be able to use it. sounds like they should be knowledgeable enough to not damage it. and if it was damaged it doesn't sound like your department has any money issues if you can just reorder equipment because someone used it.

 

I wouldn't just hand someone fall protection equipment . There are a lot of regulations to follow . Training is required and I'd question how someone was trained if they didn't have the equipment .
http://www.osha.gov/doc/outreachtrai.../subpartm.html

 

They should have their own equipment that meets these standards.

http://www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes/Ab...sp?DocNum=1983

You should most definitely not have given them your life safety equipment. If something happens they are going to be looking at you. I have no earthly idea why any fire department would not have even a small amount of roping equipment.




Tim

 

I don't think you can be held personally liable when you loan something to someone who then hands it to a third party . The other thing is there is no compensation for its use which would involve liability .

 

I'm pretty weird about my harness and ropes and related gear. I know how its been used and stored and what kind of conditions its seen regarding use and loading. Let it go and get yourself new gear as stated. A FD should have its own stuff and I am sure wouldn't loan it out.

Kurt

 

It is PPE!!!!!

 

Who approved you spending tax payers money on new equipment? You haven't checked out the old equipment and you order new! I'd fire your rump. Not your hard earned money you are spending heh. You are whats wrong with city government.

 

I used to teach rock climbing for the local community college. I had numerous discussions with the president of the college over the colleges equipment being stored at my house in the locker next to my gear as everyone's life depended on the proper handling of the equipment.. I have at time paid for my own protective gear because the companies I worked for would not and NO it was never loaned out..All of my climbing gear, fall gear and major safety gear is for my safety and I am not going to loan it out to someone who may or may not now how to use it properly.. Let them buy their own!

I'm with you on this one big foot

 

i don't see where it says that. i see where it's owned by the city. it sounds as though the contractor and the fireman need to climb a tower or something to do some work, not drinking beer and rock climbing.

 

Drinking beer and rock climbing you must vote Democratic to make a stupid statement like that..

 

if you don't understand the post ask someone smarter than you for help.

 

I'm not going to say there are some folks that don't climb and drink.. as I've scraped a few of them of the rocks, just like I've scraped a few people off the pavement that thought it was cool to drink or do drugs and drive.. EMT / Search and Rescue for 10 yrs of my life..

What I learned in my climbing days I put to use in the trades that I have worked at making the job safer for my co-workers and myself... So your comment on beer drinking and climbing may apply to you and your cronies but no one I ever climbed with or taught was drunk or under the influence of anything.. When I say climbing I am not talking about being top roped at the local climbing wall I am referencing leading the pitch on 250' to 850' walls that were rated at 5.10 / A-5..

The point of the original post was for Personal Safety Protective Gear...We are not talking about a cheap pair of safety glasses here we are talking about highly specialized equipment that requires proper training and maintenance to use safely. Most of which is governed by local, state and / or federal agencies..

Is that a smart enough answer for you or do I still need help