Walt

Vests no longer just a good idea

Once upon a time, Pa Law required a firefighter to direct traffic wearing their fire helmet. Yep, naked and a fire helmet was OK!

Cops had to be in "official uniform", which hasn't included a hat by rule since 1986.

Fire Police had to wear an "Official Hat and Badge". Of course, there were those who believed that a baseball cap was fine! We know better, and now Helmets are required (see the Helmet link under "News").

Vests were always a good idea, not just something to wear to prevent those money-grabbing creatures called lawyers from screwing your FD.

As of November 2008, vests are a requirement by the Federal Rules - you may have already caught this through e-mails or other websites. Thing is, they're already required by Pub 213 as of February 15th, 2008 - see the helmet link. The rule only calls for an ANSI Level II vest be worn - do yourself a favor and go to Level III

The American National Standards Institute - ANSI - developed Standard 107 for our safety. A Level I vest is basically a parking lot vest - it doesn't belong on the road at all. The Levels are determined by the amount of fluorescent material and the amount of reflective material - Level III has more of both than does a Level II. Be careful when buying this stuff - some stuff meets Level III for material but only Level II for reflective... Check out the label carefully!