As a firefighter, you head into dark, smoky conditions with poor visibility. And whether in your hand or attached to your uniform, your flashlight literally points the way forward. That illumination helps you see your surroundings, allowing you to carry out your mission and save lives without a moment spared.
Yet, firefighters on their own and as a team turn to multiple types of flashlights. Understand more about what they are and what they do:
Types of Firefighting Flashlights
Flashlights prevent you from doing your job in pitch-black darkness. But, not all forms of illumination are created equal, nor are they suited to every application. Sometimes, you need a concentrated beam in front to point you through a maze of doorways or branches. In others, broad, large-scale lighting makes the situation clear and removes confusing shadows. Covering this spectrum are the following:
- Right-angle flashlights: Whether attached to your gear or right in your palm, these L-shaped flashlights improve visibility and target location, even in narrow, confined spaces. Out-of-the-way designs clip to a belt or harness for hands-free use.
- Helmet lights: Mounting to the front or side of a helmet, these small, lightweight flashlights ensure you have illumination wherever you look and are essential for navigating buildings and outdoor terrain.
- Lanterns and area lights: These larger yet still portable flashlights illuminate more of your surroundings and offer a longer runtime.
- Scene and Floodlights: Supported by a tripod, these tall light sources project farther to cover more ground.
What Firefighter Flashlights Do
Firefighters and first responders quickly adapt to their surroundings to efficiently and accurately perform their jobs. Lighting supports these efforts:
- Search: You have minutes, maybe even seconds, to find someone in a building, smoldering landscape or hard-to-access outdoor area. And that's in addition to creating a clear path, improving ventilation and controlling gas buildup. Flashlights, particularly right-angle lights, lanterns and beacons, eliminate guesswork.
- Situational awareness: Although the threat appears minor in the scope of things, trip hazards are an injury waiting to happen. Flashlights, particularly helmet lights, help you identify flat, sturdy and debris-free pathways and potential obstructions.
- Visibility: Confidently locating the rest of your team helps you carry out all steps of your operation, from gathering gear to performing forcible entry maneuvers to applying water and foam where they're needed. At the same time, lighting helps trapped or isolated victims easily identify you and can encourage them to call for help.
- Identification: When your operations are up in the air, scene lights improve the visibility of the ground below so that you can see the rest of your team, assess damage, direct extinguishing agents and know where to land safely.
Due to this, the average firefighter owns multiple types of flashlights, from something to attach to their helmet to solutions designed to be carried or clipped to their gear. Whether you intend to upgrade one of your handheld devices or enhance your team's situational awareness, Fire Safety USA has all operational tasks and stages covered. Explore flashlights, lanterns and scene lights from FoxFury, Streamlight and more brands now.