This from Dennis McGuire, Jr.:
I found this in the 1973 Rules & Regulations of the Chicago Fire Department:
” Section 47.103. Equipment to be Provided by Probationary Member.Before assignment to a Fire Company, each probationary member shall provide himself with an approved fire helmet, a water-proof fire coat, a pair of three-quarter length boots, a pair of knee-length boots, safety innersoles or innerliners for all boots, a pair of bunking trousers, a pair of work gloves, a pair of mittens for winter wear, a flash light, an approved protective face and neck shield, and any other wearing apparel prescribed by the Chief of Training.
So it shows that even in 1973 we had bunker gear, and they had to buy all this themselves.Dennis M.
#1 by Dennis on September 5, 2012 - 4:58 PM
@Tom….The modern clothing we have today is not comparable at all to anything from the years past, not just the bunker pants s … also bunker pants are always worn under a coat regardless of the length of the coat so they did have the modern gear of that timeframe. The clothing now is cumbersome, and does provide extra warmth in the winter just as those did back then. I know of guys who still had them in the 80s.
#2 by tom sullivan on September 5, 2012 - 4:09 PM
they were completely different than the current clothing. the pants were badly fitted to a generic size, and worn under the full length coat. they were very cumbersome to work in and were no way comparable to modern clothing.
they did provide some extra warmth in winter, they faded away by the late 70s.
#3 by chris r on September 3, 2012 - 7:14 AM
Isnt that the bunker gear , CHICAGO just stopped using last year.