for firefighter feet, comfort is king

10/2/12 For firefighter feet, comfort is king

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Home>F i reProducts>F i reBoots>Forf i ref i ghterf eet ,comfort i ski ng

May10,2012

Forfirefighterfeet,comfortiskingTheleathervsrubberbootdebatelandssquarelyonthesideofleather

BySarahM.SmartFireRescue1Staff

Firefightersoftenhavetothinkontheirfeetduringanemergency,buttheyalsothinkabouttheirfeet.Because,frankly,aretheremanythingsworsethansorefeetonthefireground?

Inthedebateoverwhichbootmaterialissuperior,aprettyclearwinnerhasemerged.

Thorogood,makerofbothrubberandleatherboots,offersalmosttwiceasmanymodelsofleatherstructuralbootasitdoesofrubberstructural(sevenandfour,respectively).Itstoptwosellersarebothleatherstructuralboots,accordingtoJeffBurns,vicepresidentUniform/FireDivisionofWeinbrenner,Thorogood'sparentcompany.

FanbaseFireRescue1Facebookfansalsooverwhelminglypreferleather:Only7percentofrespondentssaidrubberwastheirfirstchoice.

DeputyFireMarshalJonWilliamsofUnionCounty,N.C.,isalsoaCaptainatUnionvilleVolunteerFireDepartment.Hispreferencegoesfurtherthanmaterial:He'sa"hugefan"ofleatherGlobeMagnums.

"Ihavealace­up/zipsetatworkasfiremarshalandatraditionalpull­onleatherformyvolunteerdepartment,"MarshalWilliamssaid,citingthecomfortashisdefiningcriterion.

"Theywearlikeatennisshoe,"hesaid.

Studieshaveshownthatleatherbootshelpreducephysicalinjuriesinfirefighters.

ANIOSHstudystillinprogresshassuggestedthatbecauseleatherbootsareaboutthreepoundslighterthanrubberboots,theyallowmoremobilityinthefeet,ankles,kneesandhips.

Italsosaysthatinalighterboot,thefirefighterhasabettersenseoffootingandasmallerriskofinjurytolowerlimbs.

Sowhydosomefirefightersstillchooserubber?

CostmattersSomeFacebookrespondentssaidrubberbootswereeasiertopullonduringquick­dressdrills.Otherslikedthattheywerenaturallywaterproof,andstillotherssaidtheyweremoredurablethanleather.They'realsoagooddealcheaper.

Thorogood'stwotopsellers,bothofwhichareleatherstructuralboots,costuptotwiceasmuchasrubberboots,Burnssaid.

"Abouttheonlypositivethingaboutrubberisthatit'srelativelyinexpensive,"Burnssaid,addingthatitdoesn'tbreathewellandisheavyanduncomfortable.

Somefirefightersalsobelievethatrubberbootsareeasiertocleanwheninvolvedinahazmatsituation.

"Theprevailingthoughtfromeverybodyisifyougetintoacontaminant,youcouldrinseofftherubberandthrowawaytheleather,"Burnssaid.

ButastudybyW.L.Goreprovedtheopposite.Thecellularstructureofrubberactuallytrapshazardousmaterials,itsaid,whereasleathershedsmostchemicalsbyjustbeinghosedoff.

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10/2/12 For firefighter feet, comfort is king

2/3www.firerescue1.com/fire-products/apparel/boots/articles/1284917-For-firefighter-feet-comfort-is-king/

Rubberbootsalsocomewithabitoftradition.Manydepartmentshaveusedrubberbootssincethe1930s.

FirefighterHunterKnightoftheMoodyFireDepartmentinBirmingham,Ala.,saidthefirefighterswithlongertenureinhisdepartmentatfirsthonoredtraditionbystickingtorubberboots.Butnowtheyhavemostlyswitchedtoleather.

Andwhatisthebasisforthis?Newerleatherbootsaremorerigid,providingasimilarrigidsupporttorubber,FirefighterKnightsaid,especiallyforfirefighterswithankleissues.

PlusFirefighterKnightbelievesthecomfortofleatherissuperior.

"Youdon'twanttobesomewherewhereyou'resupposedtoconcentrateonthescenebutyou'refocusedonyourfeethurting,"headded."Ifyou'remorecomfortable,you'remoresafe."

AsFireRescue1'sPPEcolumnistsJeffandGraceStulloutlinedinapreviousarticle,theimportantaspectofchoosingbetweenrubberandleatherfootwearisweighyourorganization'sneedsanddecidewhichcharacteristicsaremoreimportant—weight,comfort/fit,performance,durability,contaminationresistanceandcost.

"Someofthesecharacteristicscanbedeterminedbyunderstandingotherdepartments'experienceswithspecificstylesoffootwearandtherelativeserviceprovidedbythefootwear,"theysaid.

"Aswithanytypeofpersonalprotectiveequipment,itisdifficulttoachieve100percentsatisfactionbetweenallfirefighters.However,itisimportantthatallfirefightersbeaffordedproperfittingfootwearthatprovidesanacceptablelevelofprotectionwithoutcompromisingtheirsafety."

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