Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

TURNOUT PANTS / BUNKER PANTS

Date Range From

1980

Date Range To

2000

Materials

CANVAS, COTTON, PLASTIC

No. Pieces

3

Length

170.5

Width

61.0

Description

FIREMAN'S TURNOUT PANTS OR BUNKER PANTS. OUTER SHELL, SUSPENDERS, INNER LINER. DIMENSIONS ARE FROM TIP OF SUSPENDERS TO HEM AND WIDTH IS AT WAISTBAND. .A: OUTER SHELL. TAN CANVAS. HEM IS A PLASTICIZED FABRIC. FLORSCENT YELLOW AND SILVER REFLECTIVE STRIPE AT ANKLE. LINER KEPT IN PLACE AT HEM WITH TWO SNAPS: POSTS ON LINER, WITH THE CAPS ON SHORT PIECES OF BLACK NYLON STRAPPING, SEWN TO THE INSIDE OF THE SHELL'S LEG. REINFORCED KNEES AND TWO LARGE POCKETS ON OUTER THIGH AREA, EACH WITH A FLAP THAT CLOSES WITH VELCRO. PANTS CLOSE WITH A VELCRO CLOSURE, A SINGLE SILVER COLOURED SNAP, AND LARGE HOOK AND EYE, WITH THE HOOK AT THE WEARER'S RIGHT HIP AND A D-SHAPED EYE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE FLY. HOOK IS AFFIXED TO PANTS WITH THREE SILVER COLOURED METAL RIVETS GOING THROUGH A PIECE OF BLACK LEATHER THAT THE HOOK IS SEWN ONTO. BLACK NYLON STRAPS ON THE WEARER'S HIP ALLOW PANTS TO BE ADJUSTED ONCE ON. BACK OF PANTS CONTINUES UP WEARER'S BACK FOR 14.5CM HIGHER THAN THE FRONT. INSIDE OF WAISTBAND IS NAVY BLUE AND THERE ARE NINE CAPS FOR THE SNAPS THAT ATTACH THE INNER LINER. INSIDE OF FLY LINED WITH BLACK PLASTICIZED MATERIAL. WHITE RECTANGULAR LABEL, WITH NAVY BLUE WRITING: "FIRE SERVICE MANAGEMENT. TEL: (403) 279-5095." BELOW IN RED: "C 5519". ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE PANTS, SIX SILVER COLOURED BUTTONS, WITH STAMPED "GLOBE" IN THE CENTRE ALLOW SUSPENDERS TO BE ATTACHED - FOUR ARE IN THE FRONT, WITH TWO IN THE BACK. .B: SUSPENDERS. RED WOVEN STRAPPING. VERY ENDS OF SUSPENDERS ARE FINISHED IN BLACK LEATHER, WITH EACH OF THE SIX ENDS HAVING A BUTTON HOLE. THE LEATHER PORTION IS SEWN ONTO ELASTICIZED RED STRAPPING. ON THE FRONT, THIS ELASTICIZED PORTION GOES THROUGH A BLACK PLASTIC D-RING, WHICH HAS NON-ELASTICIZED WOVEN STRAPPING ON THE OTHER SIDE. EACH FRONT STRAP HAS A SECOND D-RING TO ALLOW ADJUSTMENT IN LENGTH. IN THE BACK, THE ELASTICIZED PORTION IS SEWN DIRECTLY ONTO THE WOVEN PORTION. STRAPS FORMA ROUGH 'H' SHAPE, WITH THE ELASTICIZED CROSS PIECE GOING ACROSS THE WEARER'S BACK AT THE SHOULDER AREA. SMALL LABEL NEAR THIS CROSS PIECE: "ASSEMBLED IN MEXICO". .C: INNER LINER. LIGHT BLUE/GREY COTTON FABRIC ON ONE SIDE, WITH A PLASTIC/COTTON OFF-WHITE FABRIC ON THE OTHER SIDE. THE STUDS OF NINE SNAPS GO AROUND THE WAISTBAND. LINER KEPT IN PLACE AT HEM WITH TWO SNAPS: POSTS ON LINER, WITH THE CAPS ON SHORT PIECES OF BLACK NYLON STRAPPING, SEWN TO THE INSIDE OF THE SHELL'S LEG. TWO LABELS, INSIDE WAIST AREA. INSIDE LEFT IS AN OFF-WHITE LABEL WITH RED WRITING, DETAILING PROPER USE OF GARMENT, TO ENSURE SAFETY. BEGINS: "DANGER. DO NOT USE THIS GARMENT IF YOU HAVE NOT READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE ENTIRE FEMSA OFFICIAL USER INFORMATION GUIDE AND ALL LABELS FOR STRUCTURAL FIRE FIGHTING PROTECTIVE GARMENT!" LABEL DETAILS PROPER USE AND ENDS: "COPYRIGHT 1996. FIRE AND EMERGENCY MANUFACTURES AND SERVICES ASSOCIATION, INC. DO NOT REMOVE LABEL." HANDWRITTEN IN BLACK INK, OVERTOP OF THE INITIAL WARNING: "2445617 LETHBRIDGE". ON THE INSIDE RIGHT SIDE IS A WHITE LABEL WITH RED WRITING, DETAILING THE TYPE OF PROTECTION THESE PANTS CAN PROVIDE, AS WELL AS WHAT THEY ARE MADE OUT OF. BEGINS: "GLOBE FIREFITERS SUITS. 37 LOUDON ROAD, PITTSFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A. 03263 TEL. 603-435-8323 * FAX: 603-435-6388. THIS GARMENT MEETS THE GARMENT REQUIREMENTS OF NFPA 1971, STANDARD ON PROTECTIVE ENSEMBLE FOR STRUCTURAL FIRE FIGHTING, 2000 EDITION. DO NOT REMOVE THIS LABEL." THIS LABEL ALSO HAS A BLANK SPACES TO FILL IN FOR THE SIZE, LENGTH, CUT, SERIAL #, DATE, AND MODEL NUMBER. THE LABEL ENDS WITH: "IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION STANDARD ON PROTECTIVE ENSEMBLE FOR STRUCTURAL FIRE FIGHTING. NFPA 1971-2000." OVERALL IN GOOD CONDITION. PANTS ARE VERY WELL USED, WITH MANY BLACK STAINS, WHICH ARE ESPECIALLY BAD AT HEM AND KNEES, PARTICULARLY ON THE FRONT OF THE PANTS. RED SUSPENDERS HAVE SOME TEARS, ESPECIALLY IN THE WOVEN STRAPPING. ELASTICIZED STRAPS HAVE LOST SOME OF THEIR ELASTICITY.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

SAFETY SERVICES

History

THESE TURNOUT PANTS OR BUNKER PANTS WERE USED BY THE LETHBRIDGE FIRE DEPARTMENT. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT PROVIDED AT THE TIME OF DONATION, JESSE KURTZ, DEPUTY CHIEF – SUPPORT SERVICES (RETIRED), EXPLAINED THAT THIS COAT WOULD BE “WORN BY ALL FIREFIGHTERS WHEN FIGHTING STRUCTURE FIRES. MADE OF FIRE RESISTANT MATERIAL AND MANUFACTURED ACCORDING TO NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION AGENCY (NFPA) AND CSA STANDARDS. STANDARDS CHANGE EVERY FIVE YEARS.” IN THE SUMMER OF 2015, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN, CONDUCTED A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH CURRENT AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING: CLIFF “CHARLIE” BROWN (HIRED IN 1966, RETIRED 2004), TREVOR LAZENBY (HIRED IN 1994), RAYMOND “RAY” PETIT (HIRED 1965, RETIRED 1998), AND LAWRENCE DZUREN (HIRED 1959, RETIRED 1992). BROWN SAID: “THESE ARE HIGH CLASS. THESE ARE NICE TURNOUTS. WHAT I HAD IN ’66 WAS JUST AN OLD BLACK CANVAS PANTS AND COAT – LITTLE BIT OF RUBBER LINING INSIDE, ORDINARY HOOKS LIKE THIS. THIS HERE’S GOT VELCRO ON IT; IT’S GOT HOOKS, IT’S GOT ZIPPERS, SORT OF A LINER IN IT FOR HEAT PROTECTION. THIS IS VERY MODERN COMPARED TO WHAT I HAD WHEN I STARTED.” LAZENBY ADDED: “THIS WAS AT LEAST ONE GENERATION AHEAD OF THE JACKET AND PANTS THAT I WAS ISSUED WHEN I WAS NEW. WHEN I WAS NEW, I GOT SECOND HAND TURNOUTS. I GOT STUFF THAT HAD BEEN USED FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS BEFOREHAND … MONEY WAS TIGHT IN THE MID-‘90S WITH COUNCIL AND THE GOVERNMENT PROVINCIALLY, BEING WHAT IT WAS, THERE WAS NOT A LOT TO GO AROUND. … THE HEALTH AND SAFETY MOVEMENT WASN’T AS STRONG THEN AS IT IS NOW. NOW THE HEALTH AND SAFETY MOVEMENT IS VERY POWERFUL AND CAN AFFECT CHANGE IN A HURRY, TO A POINT WHERE WE NOW KNOW THAT SEVEN YEARS OR WHATEVER IT IS AFTER I GET THIS SET OF TURNOUTS, I’M GOING TO GET A NEW SET OF TURNOUTS NO MATTER WHAT. BECAUSE THEY HAVE A SHELF LIFE OF SO MANY YEARS AND ONCE THAT’S UP, YOU’RE NOT ADHERING TO THE STANDARD ANYMORE AND SO IT’S TIME TO CHANGE THEM OUT. WE DIDN’T REALLY GO BY THOSE STANDARDS WHEN I FIRST GOT ON THE JOB, SO I GOT ISSUED STUFF FROM A GUY THAT HAD JUST RECENTLY RETIRED AND I DON’T EVEN THINK THEY GOT SENT TO THE CLEANERS FIRST.” HE CONTINUED, SAYING “THE COMPANIES THAT MAKE THIS GEAR FOR THE FIRST SERVICE … ARE CONSTANTLY SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THE LATEST, GREATEST FIREPROOF FABRIC. THAT GOES DOWN TO WATER VAPOUR BARRIERS, HEAT LINERS, AND THE OUTER SHELL. … YOU KNOW, IT’S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD … BECAUSE THE MORE PROTECTED YOU ARE, THE MORE ENCAPSULATED YOU ARE, AND THE LESS YOU FEEL THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AROUND YOU, THE MORE TROUBLE YOU CAN REALLY GET YOURSELF IN, RIGHT? THE FURTHER YOU GET INTO A STRUCTURE, THE FURTHER IT IS YOU HAVE TO GET OUT. AND THAT’S ONE OF THE KNOCKS ABOUT, UP UNTIL RECENTLY, OF GETTING THAT MUCH MORE PROTECTION IN YOUR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT IS THAT IT WAS LEADING TO PEOPLE MAYBE GOING TO PLACES WHERE 20 YEARS EARLIER THEY COULDN’T HAVE GONE BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO HOT.” HE ELABORATED FURTHER: “BUT THE SCIENCE OF FIRE IS BEING BETTER UNDERSTOOD NOW, AS IS OUR TRAINING AND OUR TACTICS. … I THINK I’VE BEEN ISSUED THREE SETS OF TURNOUTS NOW SINCE I GOT MY ORIGINALS … THIS WAS SIMILAR TO MY SECOND SET … I THINK THE ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY IN THIS FIELD HAVE BEEN LEAPS AND BOUNDS. THEY’RE JUST SO MUCH BETTER THAN THEY USED TO BE.” IN COMPARING THIS STYLE OF TURNOUT TO WHAT HE CURRENTLY WEARS, LAZENBY SAID: “IT HAS A SHORT BACK ON THE BACK OF THE TURNOUT COAT AND NOW WE HAVE FLAPS THAT COME DOWN. IF YOU WERE TO WEAR THIS JACKET AND YOU DIDN’T HAVE A HIGH BACK ON YOUR TURNOUT PANTS, IF YOU WERE TO BEND OVER, THERE WOULD BE A GAP BETWEEN WHAT YOUR JACKET COVERED AND WHAT YOUR PANTS COVERED. ANY TIME YOU HAVE A GAP, YOU’RE EXPOSING YOURSELF TO EXCESSIVE HEAT … THE FABRICS ARE DIFFERENT NOW, AS IS THE REFLECTIVE STRIPING. … THESE SET WERE NOT AS WELL MADE … THE MATERIAL WASN’T AS HEAT-RESISTANT AND THESE ACTUALLY AREN’T AS REFLECTIVE AS OUR NEW STUFF. THE CUFFS ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. I LIKE THE CUFFS THAT THERE’S A THUMBHOLE THAT YOU CAN PUT YOUR THUMB THROUGH THE CUFF SO THAT IT DOESN’T END UP CREEPING UP THE INSIDE OF YOUR JACKET WHEN YOU’RE WORKING. THE CUFF IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF KEEPING DEBRIS AND THINGS OUT OF YOUR COAT AND IF YOU HAVE A COAT THAT TENDS TO RIDE UP YOUR ARM, IT’S NOT IDEAL, SO. JUST LITTLE THINGS THAT ADD UP TO MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE AFTER/AT THE END OF THE DAY. SO, YEAH, THESE WOULD BE ’95 TO 2000, I THINK.” PETIT ADDED: “THE TURNOUT GEAR IS SO MUCH BETTER, IT’S GONE THROUGH ALL KINDS OF TESTS, DIFFERENT MATERIALS, LIGHTER … ACTUALLY, WE STARTED GETTING BETTER TURNOUTS, AND WHAT THEY WERE DOING WITH THE OLD TURNOUTS THAT WERE NOT GOOD TO US, THEY WERE GIVING THEM TO SMALLER DEPARTMENTS THAT DIDN’T HAVE ANY.” DZUREN DISCUSSED THE TYPE OF TURNOUT GEAR HE WORE WHEN HE FIRST STARTED IN 1959: “THEY WERE JUST STRICTLY KIND OF A CANVAS. THERE WAS NO FIRE-PROOFING TO THEM … I DON’T EVEN BELIEVE THERE WAS ANY FIRE RETARDANT TO THEM. BUT THEN EVENTUALL, WELL THE UNIONS, THEY WERE QUITE ADAMANT, AND THE DEPARTMENTS THEMSELVES WERE QUITE ADAMANT IN TRYING TO KIND OF IMPROVE THAT … WHERE THEY DEVELOPED KEVLAR TYPE STUFF THERE, LIGHTWEIGHT, VERY HEAT RESISTANT, SAVED MANY LIVES WITH THE FACT THAT THEY WERE THAT GOOD.” HE CONTINUED, SAYING: “ONCE THEY CAME IN EVERYBODY WAS QUITE ELATED, THAT THEY DID COME IN, CAUSE’ BEFORE IT WAS ALL JUST STRICTLY BLACK, AND WITH YOUR NAME ON THE BACK, I DON’T EVEN BELIEVE… WELL THEY HAD “L-F-D” ON THE BACK IF I RECALL, AND YOUR NAME, AND THEN THEY WERE HEAVY, AND CUMBERSOME, AND THEY HAD A LINER THERE FOR THE WINTER MONTHS AND A WOOL LINER WAS VERY HEAVY. SO WHEN YOU GOT IN THERE AND YOU START SWEATING, IT WAS NOT IDEAL WORKING GEAR THAT YOU HAD ON WHEN YOU WERE WORKING.” SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE LETHBRIDGE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

Catalogue Number

P20150010020

Acquisition Date

2015-02

Collection

Museum

Less detail