What is in your pocket ?

There are a lot of different ideas about what firefighters should carry in their pockets of their turnout gear and how they carry it.

Some of the things that I am aware of and what they might be used for are these:

A good handlight - Whether or not it is carried in your pocket a good handlight can be invaluable to the firefighter. The new clip on lights such as the Kohler Responder will clip onto turnouts and does not have to take up pocket space.

Tubular webbing - I believe that 16 feet + / - 1 inch tubular webbing is a good item to carry. This is not to be confused with simple flat webbing. Tubular webbing can be used for making a quick harness seat, dragging a fellow firefighter by the equipment and shoulder straps, and for dragging a civilian victim as well. It can be kept bundled or rolled and does not take up much space.

Additional wooden chocks - Chocks can be used in a variety of ways but are invaluable for marking doors and holding control of doors behind you. A couple of small tapered wooden chocks are some cheap insurance

Nails - Cut nails and even regular nails can be used in door casings to hold doors open and they take up very little space at all in your pocket.

550 lb. parachute cord - Small diameter parachute cord can be used for a variety of things and it's tensile strength allow it to be used for hauling small items.

Locking D Carabiner - Having a carabiner in conjunction with the webbing or parachute cord is a very valuable thing as well.

Leatherman tool or cutters - Many departments are encouraging the use of wire cutters. I believe that a leatherman tool that has a knife, screwdriver for pull stations and alarm investigations, pliers, and cutters is a small versatile tool that can be carried without much effort.

While I feel having some items at your disposal is a good idea, I certainly would caution you not to carry so much stuff that your pockets become too bulky and actually restrict movement. I have actually seen folks that have so much stuff they can't even mount an apparatus properly.

If you have any other ideas, send them in so we can share them.