Ballistic vest

I am a new EMS discussion board participant and relatively new provider only being certified for 3 years but this seems like a pretty interesting topic. I would say some departments should definitely wear them for the reasons jstagner has stated. Granted, not all departments are in areas that would require such lengths of protection, but then again you never know. Now I apologize if I am thread jacking but since it somewhat coincides with the vest topic, I will say I am also an advocate of concealed carrying. In addition to the concealed carry, or another alternative would be having a gun cabinet in the rig much like the narc box with just a fingerprint ID so you could get to it easily incase of an emergency. I know there would be a lot of lash-back on this subject but I believe it could be a positive addition to EMS/fire departments with of course the proper training and by establishing sensible policies.

Ya know I think we're getting way off track when we start up with vests, guns, entering active shooter situations, etc. But if they want me in an active shooter scene I want all of the above. I'm not depending on someone else to provide my protection, but in the end the fact is we can't save everyone and we aren't supposed to risk that much to try and save an unknown. Risk vs reward getting skewed viciously.

Well there is training for pepper spray and for baton as such is for a firearm. The legals of when to use physical or lethal force and how to actually do it correctly. As for the vests, if ya want to wear one wear it if not don't it is such a sad state that it is coming to this.

I love to swat hornets nets, but at the end of the day it's about our safety and going home to our family's. I do have a vest that I purchased myself years ago, and I have worn on a few occasions. I get that it is our choice to buy a vest and wear it or not. But at the price of $300-$500 a shot don't you think your agency should provide it for your safety for you? They provide us with gloves to wear to protect us, same concept I think.

Personally, I think we just need to stick to what we are meant to do which is save lives and stop trying to act like law enforcement when we are not. We do not carry weapons, nor do we go through nearly what they encounter. Even in high crime areas, whats the first thing we do when going to a potentially dangerous call? We stage. That is for our safety. It is law enforcement's job to make sure the scene is safe prior to us proceeding in. Our jobs as EMS is just that...EMS and as long as we use our heads, are aware of our surroundings, and stay together as a unit/team, we will manage just fine like we always have. Don't get me wrong, things do/can happen and our safety can be compromised at times, but that goes with any high risk job. Bottom line, if you choose to do this job, you need to be prepared for anything that may happen. We are not swat teams, we are EMS. Leave it for the police to handle.

I'm all for people carrying a concealed weapon, But on the other hand slow down listen to the calls 99.9% should tell you that it's a law enforcement problem.

Having bullet proof vests, pepper spray, batons, guns, tazers, etc is all fine and dandy. It could protect us from the one in literally 5 million calls where there is a need. I absolutely agree we need to be careful and should feel as well as be safe and have the ability to protect ourselves, but all of our patients deserve to feel safe too. How are we supposed to comfort the teenager having an anxiety attack if we look like an SRT team rolling up?