What is the best way to store turnout gear?
Open-air storage, where there’s a lot of ventilation, is the best way. Wet bunkers should be hung up before they are rolled back around the boots. And it is more than just coats and pants that need proper drying. Gloves need to be held in a way that they can open up and air out. The same is true for helmets. You need to have helmets held up by the suspension where the liners can air out. All personal protective equipment needs to be stored where it can get good ventilation. What are the challenges to making this happen? What we found years ago was that most of the turnout storage was hung on a hook on the wall in the apparatus bay. Gradually, departments began putting racks on the wall to get ventilation. This also got the gear out of the way and off the ground. In today’s modern firehouses, there are more rooms specifically for turnout gear, hose storage, and SCBA bottles and that type of equipment. There’s been a gradual change from the old firehouse to the new ones in how they store
