Hoffman Estates Fire Department Standard Operating Guidelines (PDF)

HOFFMAN ESTATES FIRE DEPARTMENT STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINES SOG Category & Identification Number: EFFECTIVE DATE: ADMINISTRATIVE – 006 January 1, 2022 NIMS COMPLIANT SOG Title: Dress Cod...

HOFFMAN ESTATES FIRE DEPARTMENT STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINES SOG Category & Identification Number: EFFECTIVE DATE: ADMINISTRATIVE – 006 January 1, 2022 NIMS COMPLIANT SOG Title: Dress Code Revision: 5 APPROVED BY: NUMBER OF PAGES: Re-evaluation Date: Alan Wax January 1, 2024 Fire Chief 8 PURPOSE A. The purpose of the dress code is to: 1. Provide uniformity of dress among personnel. 2. Project a professional appearance and positive public image. 3. Provide enhanced safety during emergency scene operations. All personnel shall wear the standard Hoffman Estates Fire Department Uniform when public contact is to occur. The uniform shall be kept cleaned and pressed. Shoes and belt shall be kept polished and in good condition. Acceptable condition of any standard uniform and/or optional items shall be made by the company officer and/or chief officer. POLICY B. The standard uniform is: 1. BUTTON-UP SHIRT - Department issued long or short sleeve: Firefighters navy blue, Lieutenants, Captains, and Chief Officers white. All Department personnel shall have at least one uniform shirt, with badge and name plate, on hand daily. a. Department patch to be placed on left sleeve/American flag (stars forward) on right sleeve. Paramedic rocker patch to be worn over Department patch when applicable. Shirts must be clean, tucked in pants and void of any defects including stains or holes. b. Shirt badge - The shirt badge and nameplate are to be worn at all times when the uniform shirt is worn. c. Nameplate - centered on right side above the pocket flap, silver for Captains and below, gold for Chief Officers. 1  d. Officers will wear the appropriate collar brass insignia as supplied by the Department. e. If T-shirt is visible, it must be navy blue under uniforms, white for Lieutenants, Captains, and Chiefs. All navy blue T-shirts will be silk-screened over left breast, H.E.F.D. emblem in white/red/blue and “Hoffman Estates Fire” in white, 1-1/4" letters on the back. Must be supplied by or purchased from Fire Administration. 2. POLO SHIRT – Department issued long or short sleeve: Captains, Lieutenants, and Firefighters, navy blue, Chief Officers white. All Department personnel shall have at least one polo shirt, on hand daily. Shirts must be clean, tucked in pants and void of any defects including stains or holes. a. Department insignia will be embroidered over the left breast. b. Appropriate rank, first initial and last name embroidered over right breast c. Officers will have the appropriate collar insignia. d. If T-shirt is visible, it must be navy blue under uniforms, white for Lieutenants, Captains, and Chiefs. All navy blue T-shirts will be silk- screened over left breast, H.E.F.D. emblem in white/red/blue and “Hoffman Estates Fire” in white, 1-1/4" letters on the back. Must be supplied by or purchased from Fire Administration. 3. UNIFORM PANTS a. Department issued, navy blue cargo or non-cargo style. b. Black belt, 1 3/4", with a silver buckle, gold for Chief Officers. 4. SHOES a. Uniform shoes will be black leather, plain toe, lace-type or slip-on. The style can be oxford, soft-leather, ankle high, Wellington boot, or jump boots with side zipper and lace front boots; Gore-Tex or Kevlar side panels are acceptable as long as the lower half of the boot will accept a shine. b. The Department recommends all shoes have a steel shank and oil resistant soles. (Safety shoes with steel toes are also recommended.) c. Shoes must be able to accept a shine and shall be kept clean, polished and in good condition at all times. 2  d. Black or dark blue socks should be worn. If white socks are worn, they shall not be visible while standing or walking. 5. DUTY COAT a. The standard issue DUTY coat will be the 5.11 jacket (ANSI Class II). The 5.11 jacket shall include a high visibility (HV) yellow color scheme and come with a minimum of 260.5” of retro-reflective material (ANSI Class III). The back of the 5.11 jacket will be labeled with “HOFFMAN ESTATES” in 2” block letters of retro-reflective material and “FIRE” in 5” block letters of retro-reflective material. The members rank, first initial, and last name will be attached on the right front breast with 1” x 4” label attached to the jacket with velcro (aka “military labeling”). When there is a need to wear a coat other than the standard turnout gear coat, the 5.11 jacket (duty coat) will be the main coat worn when on duty. This includes responding to emergency calls (i.e., Code 1, Code 2) that do not require turnout gear. b. The zip out liner of the 5.11 jacket shall have the Department insignia embroidered over the left breast and rank and name embroidered over the right breast. c. The zip out liner maybe worn alone when hi-visibility is not required. d. The optional standard issue DUTY coat will be “The Game” quilted jacket. The members rank, first initial, and last name will be stitched on the right front breast, The Department Maltese will be stitched on the left front breast. When there is a need to wear a coat other than the standard turnout gear coat, the Game jacket (duty coat) will be the optional coat worn on duty. This includes responding to emergency calls (i.e., Code 1, Code 2) that do not require turnout gear. C. Options to the "standard" uniform. 1. 5.11 QUARTER ZIP JOB SHIRT a. The optional, navy “5.11 Quarter Zip Job Shirt” will be allowed in place of the standard uniform shirt. The “5.11 Quarter Zip Job Shirt” shall have the department insignia embroidered on the left breast with the appropriate rank over first initial and last name on the right breast (see duty coat examples). Embroidering shall be silver, gold for chief officers. Embroidery shall be completed at the department designated business. Officers will have the appropriate collar insignia. b. Personnel wearing job shirts shall place their standard uniform shirt in their assigned apparatus, making it available to wear, if needed. 3  2. DEPARTMENT T-SHIRT a. At times when the standard uniform shirt is not required, an approved Hoffman Estates Fire Department T-shirt may be worn. T-shirts shall be blue for Firefighters & White for Officers. Examples of when a t-shirt is allowed include; between 20:00 hrs. And 08:00 hrs., when in-quarters, during physical fitness, and training that requires turn-out gear. b. Personnel wearing T-shirts shall place their standard uniform shirt in their assigned apparatus, making it available to wear, if needed. c. Personnel wearing T-shirts must ensure that they are clean, tucked in pants, and void of any defects, including stains or holes. Company Officers are responsible for ensuring all members are in compliance. d. If the predicted heat index is expected to reach 90 degrees on the OSHA/NIOSH app. during the day, a department t-shirt is acceptable to wear for that shift. 3. MOCK TURTLENECK a. The optional mock turtleneck may only be worn under a long sleeve button-up shirt, long sleeve polo shirt, or 5.11 quarter zip job shirt. b. The mock turtle neck shall match the color of the shirt being worn over it. c. The mock turtleneck shall have H.E.F.D. embroidered on the collar. Embroidering shall be silver, gold for chief officers. Embroidery shall be completed at the department designated business. 4. HATS a. A dark blue Fire Department approved baseball cap with insignia can be worn when issued by the Department. b. A watch cap or trooper style hat can be worn when the weather dictates and approved by the company officer. D. Standard Hoffman Estates Fire Department exercise wear consists of: 1. T-SHIRT a. Department issued navy blue or white with silk-screen over left breast, H.E.F.D. emblem in white/red/blue and “Hoffman Estates 4  Fire” in white, letters on the back (on navy blue shirts only). 2. SHORTS a. Department issued navy blue, with the Hoffman Estates Fire Department emblem silk-screened on the left leg. 3. SWEATSHIRT a. Department issued crew neck, long sleeved, navy blue, with the Hoffman Estates Fire Department emblem silk-screened on the left breast, with “Hoffman Estates Fire” on the back. Sweatshirts may be worn while completing physical fitness and under cold weather training conditions when full turn out gear is required. Sweatshirts may not be worn as a replacement for the standard uniform shirt or other approved options. 4. SWEAT PANTS a. Department issued navy blue, with the Hoffman Estates Fire Department emblem silk-screened on the left leg. Sweatpants may not be worn as a replacement for the standard uniform pants. 5. SHOES a. White or black athletic tennis shoes are acceptable. E. Class A Uniform: The Class A uniform shall consist of blouse, pants, shirt, regulation shoes, socks, tie, and cap. 1. BLOUSE a. Sleeve Stripe: Sleeve stripe to be nylon braid 1/2 inch wide made with two vellums to simulate navy thread lace; to be placed on outside of each sleeve, extending from seam to seam, and lower edge of stripe to be 4 inches from bottom of sleeve. For Lieutenant, 1 silver; Captain, 2 silver; Battalion Chief, 2 gold; Assistant Chief 3 gold; Deputy Chief, 4 gold; Chief, 5 gold. Honor Guard team members regardless of rank will have red vellums. b. Patches: Department patch sewn on left sleeve (no paramedic rocker). American flag on right sleeve, field forward. Silver border for rank below Chief Officers; gold border for Chief Officers. Honor Guard will have the AFFI Honor Guard rocker above Department patch. 5  c. Service Cross (Maltese Cross): One Maltese cross for each five years in the fire service shall be worn above sleeve stripe on left sleeve; 1 inch from center of cross to upper edge of stripe for Officers, 4½" from center of cross to sleeve edge for all others. Maltese cross is to be of silver metal for rank below Chief Officer, gold metal for Chief Officer. d. Badge Holders: Jacket to have badge holder centered above left breast pocket, depending on length of jacket, in such a manner that badge is not covered by lapel. Badge holder shall not be visible when badge is properly attached. e. Metal Name Plate: a silver metal name plate (2 1⁄2" x 1⁄2") to be worn over the right breast pocket. The metal name plate will be placed ⅛” above and centered above the right breast pocket. Gold metal name plate for Chief Officers. f. Ribbons and Awards: Any Ribbons awarded will be placed ⅛” above the Nameplate that is centered over the pocket. A ribbon holder will be used up to three wide before starting the next row. Any additional awards will be placed ⅛” above the ribbons centered. g. Aiguillette: Members of the Honor Guard shall have cords worn over the left sleeve. h. Epaulets: All department blouses shall have epaulets. Officers will wear the appropriate brass insignia on the epaulet as supplied by the Department. i. Buttons: Button insignia will be silver, gold for Chief Officer’s. 2. PANTS a. Uniform pants shall have two side pockets, two hip pockets, and optional watch pocket. Minimum of 6 belt loops properly spaced, to accommodate a 1 3/4 inch belt. Pants to be not less than 1 inch nor more than 3 inches from ground at back and hollowed or boot cut in the front to allow pants to rest on shoe properly. b. Honor Guard blood stripe will be centered on the seam at the bottom, then running along the rear and behind the pocket. The Blood Stripe with be 1” wide. 3. SHIRT a. Class A uniform shirt will be a Department issued white long sleeve 6  shirt. With department patch sewn on left sleeve (no paramedic rocker). American flag on right sleeve, field forward. Silver border for rank below Chief Officers; gold border for Chief Officers. b. Officers will wear the appropriate collar brass insignia as supplied by the Department. 4. SHOES a. Black plain toe, dress oxfords or high gloss black Army jump boots will be worn with the dress, Class "A", uniform. 5. SOCKS a. To be plain black or plain navy blue. 6. TIE a. Tie shall be of plain black fabric, not less than 2 or 3 inches at widest point; of sufficient length that point of tie is no shorter than 2 inches from belt, but not to extend below belt. Ties will be worn whenever Class A dress is appropriate, all other times are optional. b. Tie maybe clip-on, zip-up, or four in hand. 7. CAP Caps will be worn whenever Class A dress is appropriate; all other times are optional. a. Chief Officers - White leatherette cover, black bill with gold and red leafs, and gold band. b. Battalion Chief - White leatherette cover, black bill and gold band. c. Captain and Lieutenant - White leatherette cover, black patent leatherette bill and silver band. d. All others - Navy blue wool cover, black patent leatherette bill, silver band. e. Honor Guard team members regardless of rank will substitute the hat band with a red leather hat band. F. Addition to the class A uniform 7  1. OVERCOAT a. Newport Harbor coat with Department patch to be placed on left sleeve/American flag (stars forward) on right sleeve. PROCEDURE EXCEPTIONS STAFF PERSONNEL Uniformed staff personnel including Chief Officers can wear the standard uniform. They may also wear slacks and sports coat or business suits, dress-type shirt and necktie or business casual in lieu of a uniform. Excluding the standards listed above, employees shall conform to grooming standards set for uniform personnel. REFERENCES DEFINITIONS End of Document 8