Body Armor - Stab Resistant and/or Bullet Resistant

[Bosco578]

I snug my vest up tight to suck in my jelly belly.

 

[BossyCow]

I snug my vest up tight to suck in my jelly belly.

Now there's a good reason to wear one! Best so far!!

 

[mdkemt]

Bullet-Resistant Vests

Hey Guys,

I am heading back to school this fall and part of our uniform now is to wear bullet proof vests. Most of the major cities in Canada are going this way. The northern community I am currently working in is also making it part of our uniform. Is this something seen down there in the states yet?

Now I just need to find a good place to buy one!!

MDKEMT

 

[Hastings]

Hey Guys,

I am heading back to school this fall and part of our uniform now is to wear bullet proof vests. Most of the major cities in Canada are going this way. The northern community I am currently working in is also making it part of our uniform. Is this something seen down there in the states yet?

Now I just need to find a good place to buy one!!

MDKEMT

No, even the most dangerous cities in America like Detroit aren't even making armor part of the uniform.

 

[Ops Paramedic]

Good luck!! Those are uncomforable and heavy. Obviously what you pay, is what you get. There are some great products on the market, and the best is get one that suites you, that you can personalise. Do the reaserch and find the correct vest, otherwise you will waste your money.

Do you have to wear them all the time, or only when you suspect a bit of action??

 

[mdkemt]

Good luck!! Those are uncomforable and heavy. Obviously what you pay, is what you get. There are some great products on the market, and the best is get one that suites you, that you can personalise. Do the reaserch and find the correct vest, otherwise you will waste your money.

Do you have to wear them all the time, or only when you suspect a bit of action??

This is an All The Time thing now. In order for me to do my practicums I have to had this now. Otherwise i might as well stay home because they wont let me work. They are adding this into our expenses for books and such so it saves the employer money in buying one for us.

Would be nice if I only had to wear it when I suspected action but then again...some places you should always expect action.

MDKEMT

 

[reaper]

Dang, glad I don't live in crime ridden Canada!!!

 

[Guardian]

I guess everyone is going to have their personal thoughts about this issue. I work in a city that usually ranks on the top ten list for murders per capita. I’ve been in some uncomfortable situations but never felt that I needed to wear any sort of vest. If it really came to that point, then the city would no longer have me as a paramedic. I really feel that if a city is that violent, then they should have to do without paramedics. Sorry, but it’s not worth it. Luckily it has never come to that here in the USA, or at least not for consistent long periods of time. But that is not to say it can’t happen. In other countries, it has gotten that bad. Take South Africa for example. No amount of body armor would have convinced me to go into one of the Hostels during the apartheid fighting.

 

[mycrofft]

Ballistic vests or knifestoppers?

Crikey, never heard of that. Are you sure you didn't enlist or hire with Blackwater Security? Bending over a pt you are not going to be in optimal vest protective posture in any event.
I remember they tried to make everyone riding in an ambulance wear crash helmets years ago. That really went over well.

 

[BEorP]

Hey Guys,

I am heading back to school this fall and part of our uniform now is to wear bullet proof vests. Most of the major cities in Canada are going this way. The northern community I am currently working in is also making it part of our uniform. Is this something seen down there in the states yet?

Now I just need to find a good place to buy one!!

MDKEMT

Which other cities?

 

[mdkemt]

Yeah! I actually don't mind wearing a vest and it is more safety then anything. I have been in sticky situations already but never really felt I needed a best. Just their way of being protective I guess.

What other cities...I herd Edmonton is going that way, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, a few places on Vancouver Island. I can say for sure Saskatchewan is going Pro for these. Regina has the highest crime rate in Canada per capita.

MDKEMT

 

[wolfie23b]

Just remember NOTHING is bullet "Proof", only resistant. Even the Body armor I wore in Iraq could only take so much, I took 4 rounds and I do not think it could take more.

 

[mdkemt]

Yeah I hear ya.

MDKEMT

 

[triemal04]

Responding to a scene as a police officer is a lot different than responding as a paramedic.

Namely because by the time the latter comes by, said officer has already secured the scene and searched everyone for weapons.

Therefore, I'm all for police wearing armor. It's just not necessary for the medics as it is for that first responder.

I'm sorry, but this is one of the more foolish things that I've heard. Either it was very poorly worded, very uninformed, or a great example of what complacecy coupled with only a little knowledge will get you. (no offence intended, but it is)

Just because a cop says your scene is clear does not mean that it is; it doesn't mean that everyone has been searched for weapons and those weapons have been removed (sometimes it will, but most definetly not always) just that nobody has one in the open and that the situation is "safe." At that moment. It doesn't even mean that the people who will be in cuffs are in cuffs at that point. Just that the cops consider the situation to be safe.

It does not mean that the situation can't change in a moment, in a variety of ways, some of which can be hazardous or downright lethal to YOU. And, unfortunately, police aren't always at the scenes that they should be; ever been to a "cut hand from a cooking accident" that turned out to be a stabbing? With the assailant right there? Or a "sick person" that turned out to be an OD that would do anything to keep from getting help? Or hell, how about an OD that, AFTER the cop had "cleared the scene" still had a butcher knife, hatchet, folding knife (open) and several blunt objects (fire pokers and shovel) on the floor with 5 relatively hostile people in the room?

Having police on scene does not automatically make the people there safe to be around. It does not automatically mean that there aren't weapons there that couldn't be brought into play, and it doesn't mean that the cops will always be there for you.

That being said, I personally don't wear any type of body armor. But I also don't go into ANY scene with the assumption that everything is hunkey dory until I've had a chance to look around and make my own decision.

Body armor may save you once or twice in a career, but good situational awareness will save you dozens of times.

 

[karaya]

I wonder how many EMTs or paramedics are shot to death each year in the line of duty vs. those killed in vehicle or helicopter crashes while on duty?

 

[Jon]

OK - I fixed the name. Might as well go with "truth in advertising"

I think it is interesting that this seems to becoming common practice in Canada.... I know I keep seeing photos in JEMS of Calgary medics and lots of them seem to have vests.

Around here, the nearby small city's medics are issued vests as part of their uniforms. Philly hasn't started to issue vests, AFAIK.

 

[DT4EMS]

I wonder how many EMTs or paramedics are shot to death each year in the line of duty vs. those killed in vehicle or helicopter crashes while on duty?

Outstanding point.

Now my question is............. Many of the larger services mandate EVOC or a similar driving course in order to drive. Last count there were not 700,000 crashes in a year.

That number comes from a survey done by the NAEMT. When the Mcneil study was released many people shrugged it off and say..... "Oh,..... that can't be right".

Point is......... Injury from ASSAULT led the way in on duty injuries. 52% of EMS providers were injured by assault, not back injuries or exposure to infectious diseases. Those both ranked lower.

Now back to the point. Granted more people may be KILLED from the auto crash or by being run over while working on the side of the road............... many, many more are injured and have had their lives changed forever after a serious assault.

I have spoken to many of those people. Some face to face, some over the phone and some via email. Truth is........ here we do not take the assaults as serious as other countries do.

The UK is the leader for sure in their attempt to prevent/reduce assaults on EMS providers.

The numbers of EMS providers shot, stabbed, punched, kicked, struck with pipes etc. is friggin crazy when you actually do some digging and see.


My argument remains......... You get PPE and training for infectious diseases, you get EVOC for driving, you get proper lifting techniques training to protect your back.... heck some agencies even supply the back brace............... but where oh where is the scene safety training outside of a little lecture that everyone has heard time and time again.

Now for the real kicker............ IF you were told not to go onto an unsafe scene (FROM THE 2 HOURS LECTURE).......... how are so many assaults still occurring?

The answer............. EMS providers are being assaulted on what WAS a SAFE scene.

 

[ffemt8978]

i bought mine off ebay obviously not punctured yet. it is already broken in...if it wasn't i would have slept in it for a night to get it there. just because someone else wore it doesn't mean that it is no longer stab resistant.

This is the bullet resistant thread, but yes, it can mean that it is no longer resistant. Human sweat degrades the fibers in the vest over time, which means that it may fail when you need it the most.

 

[Jon]

Just FYI - I've merged the Bullet "Proof" and Stab "Proof" threads... they are both great topics... but I think we are starting to confuse the matter having two separate threads.

MDK's thread is now simply a "what to buy" post:
http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=8164

 

[K9kazoo]

Which other cities?

Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Thompson.

B.