What do different color helmets mean?

Question of the Month: (February 2011)

"Why are there different colors of helmets firefighters wear?"

Each month I take what appears to be a relatively simple question and hope to put together a short, concise and clear answer that allows the reader to become better acquainted with their local emergency responders. In over a year of doing these articles it has yet to happen like that. Instead, I find myself spending hours researching, making phone calls, editing and finding out that there is no such thing as a "simple question." Take this month's question: "Why are there different colors of helmets firefighters wear." It can't get any simpler than that.

The short answer: It identifies the rank of the person - sometimes, kind of, maybe. So ... Following is the "long answer" which is becoming my standard for these "simple" questions.

After contacting officers from all nine structural fire departments in Kootenai County and speaking with personnel from the U.S. Department of Lands, U.S. Forest Service and Coeur d'Alene Tribe, I learned that although there are some generalizations between most departments, each has its own history and tradition regarding rank structure and the protection gear they wear in regard to color and style.

With structural fire departments, (Kootenai County, Northern Lakes, Coeur d'Alene, Worley, Spirit Lake, Hauser, Mica Kidd Island (MKI), Timberlake and East Side) the one consistency is the color of chief officer helmets and shirts (white). Also, the use of bugles for the symbol of officer rank is depicted on collar pins and badges: Lieutenants have one, Captains two, Division or Battalion Chiefs three (Coeur d'Alene Fire is currently the only department using Battalion Chiefs in Kootenai County), Deputy Chiefs four and the Chief of the Department wearing five bugles.

Red helmets are often used for the ranks of Lieutenants and Captains with the exception of Lieutenants at Hauser Fire who wear blue and Timberlake currently donning black helmets with orange triangles, with plans of transitioning to red.

Those that are within structural fire departments and have met the specific qualifications for firefighter are most often issued black helmets. East Side Fire maintains their tradition of yellow helmets for all firefighters while Timberlake currently has its firefighters wearing black with yellow triangles. Reserve firefighters at KCFR, who are in their probationary period, don yellow helmets as well.

To make things even more interesting, emergency responders' gear of those who are emergency medical technicians (EMT's) only, can vary widely throughout the county. When on medical calls, EMT's will typically wear their duty uniform with protective gloves and eyeglasses as a minimum. Those responding to motor vehicle collisions or calls requiring more protective gear, can don either bunker gear similar of firefighters (Northern Lakes) or wear a colored jump suit. At KCFR this suit would be red with a blue helmet while MKI EMT's wear a blue jumpsuit and yellow helmet. Yellow helmets are also used by East Side, Timberlake and Spirit Lake personnel who are EMT's but not firefighters.

Specific ranks can be found written in a crescent on the side of the helmets of East Side and Hauser Fire while others will have the actual rank or position printed on the helmet shield, with departments using various color and lettering styles.

While most firefighters wear tan bunker pants and coats when fighting structural fires (Northern Lakes has adopted black), when you enter the world of brush or wild land firefighting, the personal protection equipment (PPE) is much more uniform. All fire personnel will wear clothing made of a fire retardant material such as Nomex.

Wild land shirts are yellow, long sleeved with pants typically duty uniform style for structural departments or green for the Idaho Department of Lands, U.S. Forest Service, Coeur d'Alene Tribe and Bureau of Land Management. Hard hats are standard equipment for all agencies while on a wild land fire, but within Kootenai County their color is not used to determine rank.

I hope that helps explain why some firefighters wear different colored helmets without making you as dizzy as I was when researching the different agencies. As always, please call or write if you have any questions about this or previous articles.

Stay safe out there!

Jim Lyon is the public education specialist/information officer with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue (KCFR). If you have a question about emergency services in your area, please submit your question to "Ask Firefighter Jim" at askffjim@kootenaifire.com. Visit our Web page at www.kootenaifire.com for additional information and to read archives of previously answered questions under the link, "Prevention."

Did you know...

According to the National Fire Protection Agency, in 2009, of the 1,148,100 firefighters in the United States, 335,950 were career (29 percent) and 812,150 were volunteers (71 percent).