While doing a drill at the firehouse the other day, DFC Pat Mann noticed the position of the gloves in the side pocket of my pants, which were stored as below.  He asked if that was how I always carried them to which I responded yes.  My logic was that I kept the gloves ready to grab and quickly don.  I have the flap of my pocket tucked away so I can grab them quickly.  Its usually a non-issue because as I get ready going down the road I put my gloves on and come off the rig with them on, ready to work.  Other than that I never thought much of it, until Pat said something.

Pat made a good point, relaying the story to me of how he had kept his gloves in the same manner until one day a piece of glass fell into them without his knowledge.  You can imagine the result the next time he put them on. So after some stitches, he had a new idea – which I was lucky enough to hear about before I got stitches too. By storing my gloves in exactly the same manner, but upside down, I could prevent debris from inevitably working its way into my gloves and slicing up my hands at the next job.  An earth-shaking idea, no… But definatley a valuable tip!  One that could keep a firefighter in play on the fireground, rather than sitting on the sidelines.  In an understaffed company that 1 firefighter could be a big deal.

The littlest tips can make a big difference – whatever you got, pass it on!