Viking even thought of a new way of treating the pant cuffs. “One of the coolest things you’ll see on the pants that you won’t see on others is the boot accessibility,” Grinstead said. “The zipper is on the back of the pant leg rather than on the sides. Much more comfortable when you’re sitting down, and you can reach the zipper more easily.” Additionally, the 10-inch zipper placed on the back of the pant leg is less inclined than side zippers to collect mud and debris, he said. CAMILLA CALLESEN , chief designer for the VIKING Shield: “We want them to feel good in their gear.” Viking even thought about adding optional suspender attachment loops to the pants in addition to the standard belt loops. Bellowed cargo and box pockets are also available on the Shield pants. An optional rubberized Kevlar ® product is used to reinforce elbows and cuffs on the coat and knees and pant leg hems on the pants. An optional removable name panel is available for the coats. Heat-applied lettering can be affixed to it or the back of the coat as the customer chooses. When it comes to color, the Viking Shield line of gear is available in traditional tan, black and dark navy blue. Customers can choose dual color garments to create negative space help to make responders more visible during operations. Viking uses highly breathable 2-inch 3M ® Comfort Trim for reflective accents in a reddish/orange or yellow. The distinctive hashmark design makes for a lighter weight garment that is also more flexible. “We want them to feel good in their gear when they are wearing them,” Callesen said. “It’s not like they are sitting at a desk all day long. They need proper, lighter gear to perform better. In order to keep them safe, we need to think more about how we can make their jobs easier, and a lighter suit will help them.” THE REMOVABLE SNAP-IN LINER converts the garment from Technical Rescue/ Extrication or EMS gear to fit-to-purpose Wildland gear. COVERING MULTIPLE PURPOSES Grinstead said every one of the firefighters and first responders in the country’s fire and emergency medical services should consider purchasing VIKING Shield. “This is a garment you could use on the majority of your calls,” Grinstead said. “If you are out on the interstate you might not have to have your full turnout gear on. Or, if you are on the random fire where you don’t need to have full turnout gear on, necessarily. Or if you are doing rescue work, you don’t have to wear your heavily insulated turnout gear. Instead, you can use the triple-certified garment to cover the gap.” Not only will departments save money by having a set of gear that will cover three responder disciplines, departments can save wear and tear on the more costly structural firefighting gear, Grinstead said. He added that NFPA is trending toward a standard that will require more inspections and cleaning after each exposure at fire scenes. “Having a garment like this that is utilized for the 75 percent, plus, of your calls, that are not structural firefighting, saves you in the long run because you’ll have a less expensive garment that does the brunt of the work and takes some of those potential maintenance issues off your turnout gear,” Grinstead said. More importantly, he said there are huge benefits to the responders themselves, he added. “You’re saving on the physiological effects on your firefighters by having them wear a more fit to purpose garment where they would have been wearing full turnout gear when they don’t have to,” Grinstead said. “…We are not only meeting the standards of 1977, 1951 and 1999, we are far exceeding them.” 4 VIKING F I E L D R E P O R T
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