What Light for Vol Firefighter???????????

Shrike9

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 22, 2000
Messages
27
I've gone and joined the local Vol fire dept and am in need of a personal flashlight that I can attach to my bunker coat (or whatever) so I'll never be withought a flashlight when needed most.

What style/make/modle flashlight should I look at, and should it be a rechargable one or something with some other kinds of batteries
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lightlover

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 28, 2001
Messages
1,901
Location
London, UK (Parallel Universe)
Streamlight Syclone - designed to withstand 500°F for 5 minutes without failure.
No idea about it's performance though.

There are other Streamlight products designed for FirePersons to use. (None seem to be of particularly good beam quality). There are units with dual filament bulbs, f'rinstance.
I believe there is a "smokecutter" lamp available from some Company.

lightlover
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**DONOTDELETE**

Guest
Shrike9, hello Brother.

Here is my experience:

SF E1 is the best light to clip to your helmet, you will need a M15 mount/clip with it. E1 is a LOT brighter then any Streamlight or Pelican and about third the size anf weight of AA Maglite. It is very water resistant, I had it in the rain for hours at the time with no problems.I got a new hat now, and M15 doesn't fit, so I sold it.

In my pocket I have SF M2. I put that light through hell-it still works, still the first bulb. I had it at the fire school, in a life burn, about 750F at a chest for 15min. It melted the lens ring a bit, and the light got pretty hot, but worked. I got Glo-Flex wrapped around the bezel, when I have to brake a hydrant, I don't lose it.

If we have power lines down, or any situation I need to look up on power poll, I use SF M4. It is A LOT BRIGHTER then SL Litebox(we have 16 of them),and about third of the size.

The reason I like Lithium power - lithium can take high temps a lot better then any other kind of battery. At 500F-600F any alkiline or rechargeable will blow, while lithium will not, it will jusy overheat and shut off, as soon as it cools down it will be like new. And the shelf lifeis 10 years, so you can leave it in your coat for 2years without any worry, when you pick it up, it will be just as bright.

I have pics of my gear and flashlights on SF boardPicture
There is a pic of SL Litebox vs. SF M4, and my gear with M4 and M2(M2 has Glo-Flex)

Did I mention that SureFire sets the standards on beam quality? You can see what I mean in the pic.

Ultrastinger - NO,NO,NO. The lens will melt, batts will explode, it is not water-proof, and it is way to big.
Syclone - same NO, the light is too weak and too big. Very not handy, size like a 16oz can of bear, no kiddin.
Survivor - those are OK, very good light, but the beam is too tight - which makes it uselless to me. Those Smoke-Cutter bulbs make the beam very tight, and they claim it can penetrate the smoke. Well as a fellow firefighter you know it is a bunch of poop - when you are in the fire, it doesn't matter what light you have - it is useless. Ever put high beams on in the dense fog? Same effect - just reflects right back at you. When you are in a bad one, you are blind- feel the way with hands and look for the GLOW. In the dark and smoke it is a lot easer to see the fire without any lights.
I got a Pelican miniflasher with my PASS, so evrybody can see me(it's a tiny LED flasher).
 

Shrike9

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 22, 2000
Messages
27
Thanks for the excellent post and info about lights. I was wondering about the Survivor's smoke cutter bulb as I though all the light would do is be reflected back into you're eyes like in a snow storm.

I've missed you're post in the SF forum, went looking there also but somehow never stumbled across it. Really like the pictures and info about the glo-flex. We have the liteboxes at work and I'm not impressed with them. They are to big, bulky and heavy for our use, but the do hold up better than mag chargers my unit issued at one time. I've tried talking them into issuing sure fires but the budget just won't allow it.

Have to check into the helmet M15 mount thing as the helmet's we get are not the traditional fire helm but a real short tight fitting one.

My personal choice is SF lights, just need to save up for them one at a time, otherwise the spousal unit (wife) will skin me alive for buying more toys
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Ps...Alex, do you carry a pocket knife, or know guys that do????? I'm thinking about getting a Emerson P-SARK cuz I'm a Emerson fan and they seem to be a good general purpose knife.
 
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**DONOTDELETE**

Guest
I carry Smith&Wesson "First Responder" in my gear. Serrated razor sharp blade with a flat-head screwdriver tip. Spring loaded window punch in the handle and the manual states that you can use the blade as a mini pry bar. It is about $50. It is the best rescue knife I've seen.

For M15 mount you need a helmet with a full faceshild. It fits under the nut on the mount(side of the helmet). It will NOT work with Bourke flip shields(NYFD style).

Some other stuff I carry:

30ft of Spectra rope(5mm(1/5inch),breaking point is 9500lb,NFPA approved for two person rescue. It is the best(strongest) rope out there, but it is almost $3 a foot. A lot stronger then Kevlar.

"Wedge-It" Lexan wedge, you can use as traditional wedge or DC style wedge, Wedgeit.com has em $7

"Omega" Jake carabiner, self-locking $15

BlackHawk Riggers belt, same as class A harness, has a D ring in it. Use it to attach myself to the ladder or emergency rapelling. 7000lb breaking point $27

"Ringers" extrication gloves, those are the best, get them as soon as you can $45

roll of velcro, about 6ft, many uses.

2 pairs of latex gloves
 

Shrike9

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 22, 2000
Messages
27
The SARK and P-SARK were especially designed by Emerson as rescue knives. The SARK has a dull rounded point while the P-SARK has a razor sharp point.

Here is a couple of links with pictures:
http://www.mdenterprise.com/sark&.htm http://www.osograndeknives.com/Emerson/p-sark.htm http://www.saroutfitter.com/Emerson%20Knives.htm http://www.knifestuff.com/emerson/sark/sark.htm http://www.botachtactical.com/emsarser.html

Botach has the best prices, but as we all know spotty customer service at best. I also know a guy that will give you excellent prices along with customer service for knife purchases.
 
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**DONOTDELETE**

Guest
Very nice, very nice. I would get it for EDC.

Check out the FIRST RESPONDER, half the price and a lot more options for vehicle rescue-screwdriver,pry-bar,window punch and the blade has more "cutting power".
 
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