Does anyone know , do fireline medic packs have to be NFPA rated with a certain material . I noticed most of the packs for sale say they are but some don’t. I was wondering if taking a regular backpack out and attaching shelter to it would be ok ?
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if your pack catching fire is happening man you got big problems.
I do remember a fire in RRU i think near pechanga many years back that melted some webgear kind of started the web gear rating wave.
Since most of these materials burn at higher temperatures than I could possibly live through common sense says its really kind of a moot point. Im not anti safety but just a realist.
AJ
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For CALFIRE assignments, all gear worn on the fireline shall be NFPA 1977 compliant. Anything less than that standard may degrade at lower temperatures. Keep yourself safe and stick with NFPA 1977 as a guideline
here is the incident that i believe drove the current standard.
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The pack police is watching you!
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I would suggest that if you’re planning to be a single resource, much like taking care of your feet is important having a good pack is important so make the investment in yourself a get an actual fire line pack regardless of NFPA certification. A backpack is not going to cut it. You’re lucky, if you’re just getting started, now that there are some great options out there specially made for line medic/emt assignments. Anyone that’s been doing this awhile will know what it’s like trying to cram all your medical gear in with your daily gear into a pack that was made for engine work.
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Buy whatever line gear pack you want. This only really applies when Cal Fire is placing an order, they have to buy NFPA approved packs. If your referring to the Mystery Ranch packs, they all use the same materials. Just because it’s not NFPA approved doesn’t mean it’s not as good.
Remember also what you’re out there to do…help injured FF’s. If your pack burns, doesn’t protect the equipment inside, is just shoved into a backpack and not easily accessible and organized what good are you doing out there? Packs can get expensive but look at the bigger picture and what the potential downfall of not buying a linemedic pack are.
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Out of curiosity are you not agency sponsored or does your agency just lack pre built line medic bags?