Stab Vests and other protective gear...?

[Arkymedic]

Good question! I have the same one. I am considering buying a very light and cool bulletproof vest to wear under my uniform. It can't hurt to wear one anyways. It is true that many EMS uniforms looks similar to polive uniforms and could easily be mistaken by a disgruntled person. :blink:

There is no such thing as a light and cool vest lol especially if you are wearing it for 12-24 hrs

 

[Arkymedic]

And that is part of the reason why some of my friends at work say EMS workers should go back to the Good Humor-type uniforms (white pants and shirts). FD uniforms now look so much like PD uniforms with dark blue pants, light blue shirts, silver badges, shoulder patches, radios, belts with stuff hanging off. Even if that's not what the local PD actually wears--brown and tan, black and white, other combinations worn by various PDs--the modern FD uniform looks so much like a cop to someone who is already half crazy to begin with, it's no wonder they don't know who they're shooting at.

I wonder...Do you think that if EMS/FD looked so obviously different from the PD (like with all-white uniforms) that the incidences of shootings at EMS/FD would go down, because the shooters intend to be targetting only cops? Or would it make no difference because the shooters don't care who they're shooting?

We wear white uniform shirts and black pants at my service. I don't think it will make any difference.

Anyone recall Kansas City in 2004? A home owner set a fire and ambushed fire and ems with sniper fire. http://publicsafety.com/article/article.jsp?id=1030&siteSection=5

Then there is this one http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/link....al.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5792458

An EMT was ambushed at the hospital in Tulsa and stabbed when he did not have drug keys.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A paramedic was hospitalized in intensive care after being attacked outside an Oologah ambulance station early Monday, police said. Emily O'Bannion, 24, was found by her partner about 1:30 a.m. suffering from a beating and what appeared to be knife wounds, officers said.



Then there is one hell of a scary situation in this one: Detroit Teen Murdered as Paramedics Give Aid for Gunshots

Updated: 06-07-2005 03:23:40 PM

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT (AP) -- A masked man ordered paramedics to step away from a teenager who lay bleeding on a stretcher from bullet wounds, then killed him with a shotgun blast to the head, authorities said.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2005/12/30/emt-knife051230.html
LANDIS, SK - A Good Samaritan who tried help an injured woman on the highway Thursday was forced to flee after someone pulled a hunting knife on him, the RCMP says. The man was a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician who stopped on Hwy 14, just east of Landis, when he saw a pickup truck parked at an angle at the side of the road. He thought the people inside might have been in an accident and when he got to the truck he found a woman bleeding from a cut on her face. At that point, an argument broke out between the male driver of the truck and the woman with the cut. The driver reached under the seat and pulled out what police described as a chrome hunting knife with a six-inch blade....

SASKATOON, SK - Paramedics in Saskatoon have started wearing bulletproof vests as the number of incidents of violence against them increases. "We've had paramedics who've been physically assaulted. They've been punched. We've had a gun pulled in the past. There's lots of incidents where knives are pulled or needles," said MD Ambulance spokesperson Troy Davies. As recently as two weeks ago, paramedics were called to a home during the evening. When they arrived on the doorstep of the house, a man armed with a hockey stick opened the door. "He was running after them. If they had been hit in the back with the stick or a bat, they wouldn't feel it because of the plates," said Davies.

Paramedic Assaulted On Squad Run
Man Repeatedly Punched In Face
February 3, 2005
HAMILTON, Ohio -- Officials reported that a paramedic was injured while helping a patient Wednesday.

Look at Columbine and the secondary devices they planned to take out emergency services.

Oklahoma City had so many assaults on EMSA medics that Fox 25 KOKH did a special on it.

and the list goes on and on and on...think about all the psychs, spitters, biters, etc as well.

Does anybody truly think someone gives a f*** whether they hurt us or not?

 

[Epi-do]

We talked about this the other day in class after going over hostile situations (which will never happen because the "scene isn't safe")....but regardless...

Maybe I am just missing the sarcasm in this since I am taking a break from studying for a final tomorrow, but are you serious? Anyone who has been doing this for very long at all can tell you that not all scenes remain "safe" after your arrival. I almost guarentee that anyone who has been around the block can tell you at least one, if not several, stories of runs that went bad from a scene safety perspective.

While we all do our best to be aware of our surroundings and make sure ourselves and everyone we work with goes home at the end of the day, patients, families, and bystanders can be unpredictable and there are times when everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

Ok, off the soapbox now. Sorry.

As for the original question, no one that I currently work with wears any sort of vest. One of the previous services I worked for would provide you with one if you requested it, but you then had to be 100% compliant with wearing it, or they would try to refuse to accept responsibility for any medical care that may be required if you were to suffer an injury the vest would have prevented.

 

[TransportJockey]

Maybe I am just missing the sarcasm in this since I am taking a break from studying for a final tomorrow, but are you serious? Anyone who has been doing this for very long at all can tell you that not all scenes remain "safe" after your arrival. I almost guarentee that anyone who has been around the block can tell you at least one, if not several, stories of runs that went bad from a scene safety perspective.

That might be true, but if his class is anything like mine, the instructors will drill into you that you don't go into the scene until it has been deemed safe... So I can understand where he's coming from

As for the OP's question... I have seen maybe one or two AA or AFD members wear vests... but not too many. But I also don't go into the section of ABQ that they might be needed in very often, either

 

[kashton]

There is no such thing as a light and cool vest lol especially if you are wearing it for 12-24 hrs

There are fairly light and cool ones:

EX:
http://www.bulletproofme.com/ProMAX_Vests.shtml#GoldFlex

probably as light and cool as you will get for a bullet proof vest

 

[MrUgly]

When I started with my corps, I asked if I was authorized to wear one. My Capt. looked at me like I was a complete loser, and said "Yes, if you really think you need one to be safe, feel free to wear one. The rest of us just keep our eyes open."

I took that to mean it was frowned upon.

 

[firecoins]

I don't wear one. I don't think there is a need to wear one. However that does not mean my safety will not be at risk from an unruly patient or other people who hate "authority figures". There are plenty of nuts out there.

 

[katgrl2003]

There are plenty of nuts out there.

Sometimes the patients can be a little crazy too!

-Kat

 

[JJR512]

I don't wear one. I don't think there is a need to wear one. ...

Some might feel it is better to have one and not need one that need one and not have one.