Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 2 1 2 >
Topic Options
#181467 - 09/05/09 02:00 PM "What's in your Pockets?"
KTOA Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 02/08/04
Posts: 86
Loc: SoCal
I happened upon this website yesterday, and at a minimum, it's a fun look at what firefighters are carrying and their thought process. Be sure to take a few minutes and look at the rest of the site.



What's in your Pockets

Always an interesting question... Ask any Firefighter what's in the pockets of their gear, and why. Everyone has different ideas, and there is typically an interesting explanation.

http://www.vententersearch.com/pockets.htm

Top
#181472 - 09/05/09 04:25 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: KTOA]
dweste Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/16/08
Posts: 2463
Loc: Central California
thanks!

Top
#181475 - 09/05/09 06:39 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: dweste]
CANOEDOGS Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 1853
Loc: MINNESOTA
a lot of clever ideas and if nothing else it shows you what a nasty bit of work firefighting is--which is why it's call "fighting" i guess and just not "putting fires out"

Top
#181477 - 09/05/09 07:27 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: KTOA]
nurit Offline
Member

Registered: 03/27/08
Posts: 191
Loc: NYC
This one's my favorite:

"A rubber door strap, it is a simple piece of inner tube tire with two slots in it to slip over each side of a door handle. It prevents self closing doors from latching behind you."

Elegant.

Top
#181481 - 09/05/09 09:55 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: KTOA]
Nicodemus Offline
Paranoid?
Veteran

Registered: 10/30/05
Posts: 1341
Loc: Virginia, US
I checked out the rest of that site, and it made me respect firefighters all the more. The pictures of structures that are "Not hat they appear to be from the outside", and other hazards was wild.

Talk about walking into the unknown.
_________________________
"Learn survival skills when your life doesn't depend on it."

Top
#181490 - 09/06/09 01:04 AM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: Nicodemus]
scafool Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1534
Loc: Muskoka
This is brilliant!
Posted April 02nd, 2009 | Category: Random
http://www.vententersearch.com/?p=473
_________________________
May set off to explore without any sense of direction or how to return.

Top
#181493 - 09/06/09 02:23 AM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: KTOA]
Matt26 Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 09/27/05
Posts: 309
Loc: Vermont
It's a great site!, I've been checking it out regularly for over a year now. I've been a volunteer for almost 20 years now and I can't tell you how much info is given on VES. Read it for a while and some of the names get very familiar. Some have pretty strong personalities but that is usually a good thing.
_________________________
If it ain't bleeding, it doesn't hurt.

Top
#181525 - 09/06/09 04:08 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: Matt26]
Alan_Romania Offline

Addict

Registered: 06/29/05
Posts: 648
Loc: Arizona
VES is a great site, and it truly is a lost art of the fire service. I found the site a year or so ago and it is now one of my 4 "home pages".

A lot of the idea's in the "Whats in Your Pockets" section are tricks of the trade that have been passed down from firefighter to firefighter for years. VES has become a cool collection of tricks of the trade (that not everyone agrees on, as you can see if you read the comments ;))
_________________________
"Trust in God --and press-check. You cannot ignore danger and call it faith." -Duke

Top
#181533 - 09/06/09 05:39 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: Alan_Romania]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
Very interesting...to see what the pro's carry...

Top
#181539 - 09/06/09 06:49 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: TeacherRO]
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3256
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Loved the photos.

But I confess ignorance on the "Shove Knife and Elevator Key."

What are these for, and how do they work?


Top
#181542 - 09/06/09 07:03 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: dougwalkabout]
Tom_L Offline
Addict

Registered: 03/19/07
Posts: 690
Yup, that's a very good link. Thanks for sharing, one of the most interesting online resources I've come across lately. smile

Top
#181543 - 09/06/09 07:04 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: dougwalkabout]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Quote:
But I confess ignorance on the "Shove Knife and Elevator Key."


The shove knife looks like some type of door-unlocking tool.

Those different door-choks are brilliant.

-Blast
_________________________
Foraging Texas
Medicine Man Plant Co.
DrMerriwether on YouTube
Radio Call Sign: KI5BOG
*As an Amazon Influencer, I may earn a sales commission on Amazon links in my posts.

Top
#181549 - 09/06/09 08:56 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: Blast]
Alan_Romania Offline

Addict

Registered: 06/29/05
Posts: 648
Loc: Arizona
As Blast said, the shove knife is for unlocking simple door locks. The shove knife is basically the end of a slim-jim car door opener that can be used in about 10,000+ ways. Most common is to open a door similar to how you see a credit card used in the movies (except this works better and doesn't break).

Elevator key's are for opening the outer doors of an elevator to gain access to the shaft/car. If you look at an outer door for an elevator you will see a small hole about 1/2" in diameter. The flat part of the key is inserted into this hole and drops down once clear the door. Rotating the key towards the outside of the elevator pushes a release level allowing the door to be opened.

Recently we had a stuck elevator call where a janitor, trying to be helpful, tried to force some large door wedges into the gap between the doors in an attempt to free the women struck inside. Once we got there, the release mechanism was damaged to the point where we basically had to break the door and release mechanism to get the door opened... needless to say the building's owner was less then thrilled with the $8000 bill to repair the door, he was happy with us once I explained what happened (not so much with the cleaning crew though).

I was just thinking the other night about what I carry in my pockets and the evolution both my off-duty EDC and my on-duty EDC has taken over the years as well as how the contents of my tunrouts have changed over the years.

Today I carry the following in my turnouts:
On my helmet:
  • Surefire G2L in a Blackjack holder
  • one large wedge
  • 2 small plastic wedges
  • earplugs (inside the cap)
In my Jacket:
  • Koehler Brightstar Flashlight (the BEST handlight I have ever found for firefighting for the money)
  • spare battery for Thermal Imaging Camera
  • 4-5 rubber door stops
  • 2 wedges
  • 30' 1" Webbing with 2 carabiners.
In my Pants:
  • modified vice-grips with chain
  • Cutting pliers
  • 8-in-1 screwdriver
  • no touch voltage tester
  • shove knife
  • Gerber Hinderer Rescue Knife
  • trauma shears
  • 10' 1" webbing sewn sling (20' of webbing sewn in a loop).




Edited by Alan_Romania (09/07/09 04:00 AM)
_________________________
"Trust in God --and press-check. You cannot ignore danger and call it faith." -Duke

Top
#181552 - 09/06/09 09:32 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: Alan_Romania]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5359
Loc: SOCAL
Alan,
re: "small plastic wedges" and "rubber door stops"

Wouldn't plastic and rubber tend to melt or burn in a fire and thus fail? or is the intent to be in and out quickly enough that it's a non-issue?
_________________________
Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.
Okay, what’s your point??

Top
#181553 - 09/06/09 09:42 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: Russ]
Alan_Romania Offline

Addict

Registered: 06/29/05
Posts: 648
Loc: Arizona
I have had some plastic wedges melt on my helmet, but the small rubber ones like these have held up really well. I do prefer wood wedges, but these little rubber ones can be forced into places (like sprinklers) that wood can't.

You would be surprised how hot it has to be to melt some rubber without direct flame contact...


Edited by Alan_Romania (09/06/09 09:44 PM)
_________________________
"Trust in God --and press-check. You cannot ignore danger and call it faith." -Duke

Top
#181557 - 09/06/09 10:06 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: Alan_Romania]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5359
Loc: SOCAL
Thanks, I was thinking wood too, but for practical applications requiring softer flexible/pliable material rubber and plastic make sense.
_________________________
Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.
Okay, what’s your point??

Top
#181572 - 09/07/09 02:04 AM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: Russ]
2005RedTJ Offline
Addict

Registered: 01/07/09
Posts: 475
Loc: Birmingham, Alabama
A quick note on elevator door keys - different elevator manufacturers use different keys. They are uniquely shaped and not interchangeable. I know this only because in my line of work, I have to access the inside of elevator shafts all the time and work inside them.

And if a modern elevator does have a hatch in the roof of the car, it will likely be locked from the outside. I wouldn't say it'd be impossible to open from the inside, but it might be tough.

That's an awesome site, and there's a lot of good ideas there.


Edited by 2005RedTJ (09/07/09 02:19 AM)

Top
#181627 - 09/07/09 04:59 PM Re: "What's in your Pockets?" [Re: dougwalkabout]
DrmstrSpoodle Offline
Member

Registered: 01/28/07
Posts: 138
OMG, the custom vise grips are brilliant, I can't believe I didn't even think of that! Making a pair right now, today. NEED a pair of eyebolt vise grips for the plant.

Top
Page 1 of 2 1 2 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, cliff, Hikin_Jim 
July
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 184 Guests and 69 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
axotugoc, eprep, Aaron_Guinn, israfaceVity, Explorer9
5372 Registered Users
Newest Posts
New prep for our changing nation?
by pforeman
07/15/25 06:00 PM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.