Majestic Fire Apparel’s Hoods offer a wide range of safety
precautions to firefighting professionals: Their CarbonKnight filters expand
when exposed to flame, which creates an oxygen-starved environment that stifles
fire. The hoods feature a one-piece, flared-back design, offering a generous
fit that spreads material out across the wearer’s back and over the shoulders.
Its wider width and size equates to excellent air circulation and less
stretching of the fabric. The recently released Glow-in-the-Dark hoods were
crafted with the same positive features, but is there a potential downside to hoods that
glow in the dark?
We recently received feedback from a concerned customer
regarding one of the glow-in-the-dark hood’s elaborate, illuminated, skull-themed designs. According to
the customer, the design may hamper a rescue attempt. He went on to detail his concern: “It’s hard enough to rescue a potentially
frightened child amid the murky and smoky conditions of a fire without having a
large, glowing skull coming at them through the darkness.”
“How would a
frightened, hiding kid react when a skull shows up? They are hard enough to
find as it is,” he said.
James Witmer, Vice President of Sales at Witmer Public
Safety Group, Inc., has a slightly different point of view. “This hood is designed to protect the firefighter the same
as any other hood of its same fabric, and when the rest of the gear is properly
donned, there is almost zero visibility of any of the glow ink and, therefore,
unable to contribute to scaring a child.” He goes on to allow the
responsibility of choosing a hood to the individual and their department.
“Personal expression is important, and when allowed by the department, it comes
down to an individual’s decision.”
To validate Witmer’s point and allow potential concern to be relieved, please see the series of images below that depict firefighters rescuing children while wearing TOG, how the glow-in-the-dark hood appears when worn alone, the maximum amount of the hood that can be seen under TOG, and the minimum and more likely amount of the hood that can be seen under TOG:
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| Images of firefighters rescuing children* |
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| How an illuminated Majestic Glow-in-the-Dark appears |
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| Maximum amount of hood seen when TOG neck strap or collar are improperly left open |
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| Minimum amount of hood seen under TOG |
Witmer doesn’t believe in restricting products to market that don’t compromise the safety of firefighters or the company’s values. Therefore, he believes in providing choices, which is why the hood is offered among many thousands of other products.
“Firefighters in America and around the world have a strong
culture and passion for the work they do and the risks they take to protect
their communities,” he said. “I admire and respect that and want our customers
to make choices based upon their convictions. Certainly, a glow-in-the-dark
skull on a hood doesn’t strike me as the most ‘professional’ choice a
firefighter can make, but it will protect the firefighter just the same, and it
is up to them or their commanding officer to make the decision; it’s not for me
to tell them what they should or shouldn’t buy.”
Majestic, in response to similar criticisms about the
skull-themed hoods, is in the process of updating their warning and user guide
to include an “informational advisory” disclaimer geared toward any imagery
that could invoke adverse reactions. The goal is to educate the user to think
in a sensitive and intelligent way prior to selecting a skull-themed hood.
“We respect the command structure inherent within the fire
service, and should administrative perspectives find any design to be offensive
or deleterious in any way to the image that the fire department wishes to
portray – both from within as well as to the public they serve – we would hope that
the fire department would implement guidelines that would limit the use of such
garments accordingly,” according to a prepared statement from Majestic.
Additionally, Majestic acknowledged the importance of
firefighters teaching children not to fear a firefighter in full turnout gear
and wearing an SCBA, and that any potentially frightening artwork or logos
should not be prominently exposed, either during a training or educational
exercise or during an actual rescue situation.
Now it’s your turn: what are your thoughts on the information presented here? Let us know in the comments section below.
*Images courtesy of Google Image search
TheFireStore.com
