Respondersafety.com Tells Feds: There are times NOT to wear a High Visibility Vest

The CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute has filed a comment to the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices open Docket clarifying when firefighters on the roadway should not wear High Visibility Traffic Vests.

The submission reflects the position of the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC). Jack Sullivan, Director of Training for the CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute drafted the document which was submitted to the Federal Highway Administration as part of the revision of the Manual for Unified Traffic Control Devices. The fire service is represented on the NTIMC by the IAFC, IAFF, NFPA, NVFC and the CVVFA. The vote comment on the docket was unanimous by all those present at the June 18, 2008 meeting.

A full copy of the CVVFA’s letter follows this article. The MUTCD revision will be issued in 2009. Respondersafety.com has received a number of inquiries about when not to wear high visibility vest especially during suppression activities. Federal Rule 634 that takes effect November 24, 2008 is silent on this issue. The CVVFA includes instruction when not to wear a vest during some operations in many of our training materials and have done so for years. The comment states in part the following:

Firefighters engaged in emergency operations where they are directly exposed to flame, fire and/or hazardous materials shall wear appropriate personal protective equipment as outlined by National Fire Protection Standards and when they are engaged in all other operations, safety apparel as described in this Section shall be worn by fire and emergency medical services personnel.

Option:

Emergency and incident responders and law enforcement personnel within the TTC zone may wear high-visibility safety apparel that meets the performance requirements of the ANSI/ISEA 207-2006 publication entitled “American National Standard for High-Visibility Public Safety Vests” (see Section 1A.11), or equivalent revisions, and labeled as ANSI 207-2006, in lieu of ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 apparel.

The MUTCD revision presents an opportunity to include language that clarifies when firefighters should not wear high visibility garments. When the 2009 MUTCD is published it will supersede the Federal Rule.

The CVVFA urges fire departments and fire service organizations to file a comment on the docket prior to the closing date on July 31, 2008.