- May 2, 2024
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Palm Coast Fire Department driver engineer Daniel Bouillon leans back, allowing the harness to support him, as Lt. Joey Paci and driver engineer Mark Davidson instruct him. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department firefighter/EMT Junelle Steward lets the Class 2 Seat Harness support her during her first practice with the new gear. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department Lt. Joey Paci watches driver engineer Daniel Bouillon make his first attempt using the Class 2 Seat Harness from the second floor Photo by Paige Wilson
Firefighters in the window help driver engineer Daniel Bouillon slowly work his way to the ground for his first time using the new Class 2 Seat Harness, while Lt. Joey Paci helps from the ground. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department firefighter/EMT Junelle Steward practices using the new Class 2 Seat Harness on ground. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department driver engineer Daniel Bouillon gets ready to bail out of the second-floor window using the new Class 2 Seat Harness. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department driver engineer Daniel Bouillon practices using the new Class 2 Seat Harness on ground. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department Lt. Joey Paci instructs driver engineer Daniel Bouillon and firefighter/EMT Junelle Steward in an on-ground practice with the new Class 2 Seat Harnesses. by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department Lt. John Kozloski and driver engineers Mark Davidson and Daniel Bouillon listen to training instructions. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department Lt. Joey Paci holds up the new Class 2 Seat Harness after propelling from a second-story window. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department Lt. Joey Paci gets ready to bail out of a second-story window with the new bunker gear, including a Class 2 Seat Harness, at the county fire tower in Bunnell. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Fire Department Lt. Joey Paci starts to use the newly issued Class 2 Seat Harness to bail out from the second floor. Photo by Paige Wilson
Rappelling out of a window just got simpler for the Palm Coast Fire Department’s 57 career firefighters.
As part of its rebranding, PCFD has implemented the use of new bunker gear. Each unit costs about $2,400, Fire Public Information Officer Patrick Juliano said. It includes a black jacket and pants, a Class 2 Seat Harness and a Drag Rescue Device.
“We’ve had bail out systems before. They were more of a traditional rappelling system,” Lt. Rich Cline said. “This is specifically designed for a firefighter to bail out of a window.”
To demonstrate, Lt. Joey Paci bailed out of a second-story window in the firefighter training tower in Bunnell on Thursday, April 26, while using the new gear. His movements were fluid and allowed for a simpler descent to the ground compared to previous “ropes and rings,” as Cline called the older rappel system. During training, the firefighters were also hooked up to an extra safety harness, which would not be used in real-life situations.
“Here in Palm Coast, as long as I’ve been here — this is almost 20 years — we have never had a situation where someone had to bail out,” Cline said. “But we are also proactive, and we want to make sure that if we ever have to bail out, that we can do it safely.”
Paci spent the day providing two-hour training periods for the different engine departments to learn how to use the new gear. First, the firefighters layered on the new jackets and pants, and then they practiced with the new harnesses on ground before trying to rappel from the second floor.
“There’s less thought involved,” Cline said about the Class 2 Seat Harness. “Before, you had to take things out, connect things up, find something to hook it to. This thing: you have the big hook, you hook it into the wall and jump out the window.”
City of Palm Coast Communications and Marketing Manager Cindi Lane said the money for each unit comes out of an equipment fund in the fire department’s budget. Bunker gear — which is used for situations like structural firefighting, vehicle accidents and vehicle extrications — is replaced on a rotation of about 15 sets per year, said Lane.
The new Drag Rescue Device in the firefighter jacket would allow a firefighter to drag an incapacitated firefighter to safety, if needed. The attire also has diamond-plated reflective striping for greater visibility when firefighters are working roadside emergencies at night.
