1. The Department supplied protective hood-interface component is part of your personal protective equipment (PPE) and its use is mandated by the Department, NFPA Standard 1500 and 29 CFR 1910.132, Subpart I of OSHA Regulations. The use of protective hoods will have the same positive results as bunker gear, further reducing burn injuries to our members.
  2. It must be understood that wearing the hood in a hostile environment somewhat reduces your ability to note changing fire conditions in the immediate area. Therefore, you must leave the area immediately upon feeling any pain or discomfort through the hood, unless the area can be immediately cooled by a hose line. Remember; always stay alert to deteriorating conditions.
  1. At the start of each tour-of-duty and after each use, inspect your hood for tears, discoloration, stretching or open seams. If you find any problems notify the Company Officer. In combination with use of the protective hood, members shall use their helmets’ earflaps, with coat collar up prior to entering the fire area. Members with an unserviceable or missing hood shall immediately report same to their Commanding Officer upon discovery. Replacement hoods will be maintained by Battalion Chief’s. For identification purposes, the members name and employee number shall be printed on the inside bib area.
  2. The hood shall be donned according to the prescribed method described during training and as outlined in # 6.As tests have concluded, members are provided with protection from heat whether the hood is dry, damp or saturated with moisture.
  3. Members may wash their hood in lukewarm water using a mild liquid detergent. Do not use chlorine bleach, it is harmful to the hood's stitching. Never wring water out of the hood, this can stretch the material instead, squeeze the water out. After rinsing, air-dry the hood completely away from sunlight.
  4. The following procedures shall be used when donning a personal protective hood: Put bunker pants on before donning hood, pull hood onto the head; smooth down head portion of hood on your head and smooth down bib portion on chest and upper back. Next, put turnout coat on and close all fasteners. Slip the head portion of hood off and allow it to rest on top of the coat collar. Don SCBA and facemask; pull hood back over the head and overlap hood face opening onto the edge of the SCBA mask. Don protective helmet. Be sure the hood does not interfere with the SCBA facemask seal. Doffing the protective hood is a matter of reversing procedures. UNDER NO CONDITION SHALL THE PROTECTIVE HOOD BE PLACED UNDER THE HEAD HARNESS ASSEMBLY. BY ORDER OF THE CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT

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