220.00 General Uniform Regs.docx

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES SECTION: 200.00 / Rules & Regulations Guideline: 220.00 Uniform Code Revision Date: 01/2024 220.00 General Instructions Uniforms shall be neat, clean, professional, and in good serviceable condition Personnel shall make every effort to maintain a neat, clean, and pr...

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES SECTION: 200.00 / Rules & Regulations Guideline: 220.00 Uniform Code Revision Date: 01/2024 220.00 General Instructions Uniforms shall be neat, clean, professional, and in good serviceable condition Personnel shall make every effort to maintain a neat, clean, and professional appearance when in contact with the public. Only department-issued items will be allowed to be worn on duty. Personnel shall be in appropriate department clothing ready to respond at 0700 hours and will remain in such until relieved at each shift change. PT gear may be worn during morning equipment check, workout, and after 1700 hours. In addition, on weekends and holidays, personnel may wear a clean and neat t-shirt with uniform pants, until 1700. At 1700, personnel may then change into PT gear. Anytime personnel are interacting with the public during non-emergency situations personnel will be in the Class B uniform. (Nomex Shirt or POLO) This includes Tours, City Hall Trips, and Inspections, etc. 220.10 Uniform Items Shirts Navy Blue Nomex Shirt: The Fire Department-issued blue (class “B”) Nomex shirt will be worn by fire suppression personnel. All buttons will be buttoned except the top button unless a tie is worn. The short-sleeve shirt or long-sleeve shirt may be worn at the discretion of each individual for regular duty shifts. Officers are to wear collar insignia. Navy Blue Nomex Long Sleeve Shirt: Will be worn by fire suppression personnel as the class “B” uniform. Polo Shirt: Will be worn by fire suppression personnel as normal duty wear (replacing the T-Shift as normal wear). White Dress Shirt: On occasion, as determined by a chief officer, the white dress shirt may be worn by Chief Officers and Fire Prevention personnel. Issued T-Shirts- May be worn as indicated in 220.00 (D) Sweatshirts- The department-issued sweatshirt may be worn during cold weather over the appropriate uniform shirt. Tails of shirts, with the exception of the sweatshirt, are to be worn inside pants/shorts. Pants Navy Blue Pants: Worn by Suppression personnel as duty uniform. Navy Blue Dress Pants: To be worn with class “A” uniform. EMS Pants: Worn by Suppression personnel at the discretion of each individual for regular duty shifts. Pants should be worn over the outside of footwear. Socks Socks shall be black or navy blue. Exception: When wearing boots white socks are acceptable. Ties Black ties will be issued by the Fire Department. If purchased by the individual, they must be the same width and length in final appearance. The material should also look the same. Ties will not normally be required for regular duty. Special events or assignments will require a tie with the appropriate long sleeve class “A” shirt (i.e., funerals, promotional ceremonies, graduation, or ny other event designated by a Chief Officer on a “class A” event). Baseball Caps Baseball caps are optional wear and will be furnished by the department. If purchased by the individual, they must be approved by the Fire Chief. Hats must be in good appearance and not faded. Baseball caps are not to be worn with the class “A” uniform. Footwear Shoes or boots worn with the uniform must be black. They shall be in good serviceable condition. Shoes or boots must have black stitching and black leather or synthetic soles. Shoes or boots shall have a plain rounded toe. Wing tips or shoes with ornamental designs, buckles, straps, or tassels are not acceptable. Belt and Buckle Black leather belt with buckle issued by the Fire Department. Insignia The Fire Department will issue all badges, nametags, buckles, buttons, and rank insignia. They will be gold or silver according to rank. No other insignia may be worn on or with the uniform without permission of a Chief Officer. Engineers, Captains, Chief Officers Gold Firefighters Silver Collar Insignia (Gold) Chief 5 crossed bugles Assistant Chief / Division Chief 4 crossed bugles Battalion Chief / Fire Marshal 3 crossed bugles Captain 2 parallel bars Badges Badges will not normally be required for regular duty. Special events or assignments may require a badge. The following are the requirements for wearing badges: With the class “A” Uniform. Public events, i.e. tours, promotions, block parties, etc. At the direction of a Chief Officer. Badge Shrouding: The shrouding of a badge is accomplished by placing a ½” to ¾” piece of black material horizontally at the badge’s midpoint entirely around the badge. Badge shrouding will be done at the direction of a Chief Officer. Windbreaker: An issued windbreaker may be worn at the discretion of the employee. It may not be worn with a dress uniform. Winter Coat: An issued winter coat may be worn at the discretion of the employee. It may not be worn with a dress uniform. Toboggans: An issued toboggan may be worn for cold weather. Jewelry: Jewelry worn by shift employees will be conservative and minimal in amount. Shift personnel may wear a wristwatch. Earrings, ear studs, and other decorative jewelry shall not be worn. Necklaces may be worn, but must remain concealed from view, beneath the uniform shirt. Wearing rings will not be allowed while on duty. *** ***NOTE EXCEPTION: The wearing of wedding bands will be up to the discretion of the individual, but is discouraged due to safety concerns during emergency calls. Medic alert tags may be worn as a necklace under the uniform shirt or may be carried in your wallet. Shorts: Fire and EMS personnel who elect to wear shorts as part of their uniform will be permitted to do so. Shorts will be kept clean, presentable, and professional. Black shoes, no high top, ¾ top, or boots of any variation. Black socks are to be worn. “Tube” socks are not acceptable. Issued black belt with appropriate buckle, according to rank. 220.20 Class “A” Uniform The class “A” uniform will consist of the appropriate dress shirt with a badge, rank insignia, nametag, service awards, and patches. A tie will be worn with the long-sleeved dress shirt and the navy-blue dress pants issued by the Fire Department. The issued black belt and approved footwear will also be worn. No baseball caps will be worn with the class “A” uniform. Special events or assignments will require the wearing of the issued tie with the long sleeve class “A” blue or white shirt (i.e., funerals, promotional ceremonies, graduations, or any other event designated by a Chief Officer. (See class “A” uniform) Firefighters or officers who have been issued a dress uniform may wear the dress uniform to such events as listed above. 220.30 Class “B” Uniform Issued Navy Blue Nomex Shirt Issued Navy Blue Nomex Pants Issued Department Polo Shirt Issued Navy Blue EMS Pants Navy Blue Shorts may be worn at the discretion of the individual. 220.40 DRESS UNIFORM A. Dress Uniform Coat Double-breasted, dark navy or black, six buttons for both men and women. 1. Years of Service Stars (each star = 5 years) on left sleeve. 2. Uniform Striping Firefighter - One silver ½” stripe Apparatus Driver – One gold ½” stripe Captain – Two gold ½” stripes Battalion Chief – Three gold ½” stripes Assistant Chief – Four gold ½” stripes Chief of Dept. – Five gold ½” stripes B. Dress Uniform Trousers Uniform/matching coat C. Dress Uniform Shirt Long-sleeved white shirts. D. Dress Uniform Tie Black E. Dress Uniform Belt Issued leather belt. F. Shoes/Socks Black socks with black smooth leather shoes. G. Caps Chief Officers shall wear white. Firefighters through the rank of Captain shall wear blue. H. Insignia A badge will be worn on the dress uniform coat’s left chest. A nameplate and service bars will be worn on the dress uniform coat’s right chest. Officer collar bars will be worn on dress uniform shirt collars. A firefighter who retires after completing 20 (twenty) or more years of service with DeSoto Fire Rescue will be allowed to keep their dress uniform and will be eligible for a rank retirement badge from the department. Firefighters or officers who have been issued a dress uniform may wear the dress uniform for special events or assignments, funerals, promotional ceremonies, graduations, or any other event designated by a Chief Officer. 220.50 Physical Training Uniform (PT Uniform) The Department, except for shoes and socks, furnishes physical training uniforms. Issued Shorts – Solid navy blue Issued T-shirts – Standard department-issued T-shirt Socks – Socks shall be black or navy blue. Shoes – Personnel are encouraged to purchase appropriate athletic shoes for comfort and support Issued Sweatshirts and Pants – Solid navy blue Issued Toboggans – Solid navy blue may be worn for cold weather. Issued Baseball Cap 220.60 DeSoto Fire Rescue Service Bar Regulations Purpose DeSoto Fire Rescue maintains an awards program to recognize and honor deserving members for outstanding service to the department and the community. Objective To display various merit, academic, and seniority bars given by the Department. Wearing of Service Bars Service bars are not required for everyday wear. When service bars are worn for everyday wear, not more than 3 bars shall be displayed. All service bars are to be worn in situations that warrant the wearing of a Department dress shirt, dark dress slacks, and badge. Situations where all service bars might be worn are; promotional ceremonies, funerals, council commendations, television appearances, or where a dress appearance is required. In most of these situations the departmental issue tie will be worn.