Mahwah Firefighters Get New Safety Equipment

Members of Mahwah’s 130-member volunteer fire department are safer thanks to the recent addition of “bail-out bags” to their uniforms.

According to Captain Chris Konash, of Co. 4, the bail-out bags are to be used by firefighters stranded on a second or third floor and unable to escape due to life-threatening conditions.

“What the system offers is piece of mind as you know you have the tools and equipment attached to you, should you be stuck in an emergency,” said Konash. 

The bail-out bags are a Velcro sack that slide into the uniform pant leg of a firefighter. In the sack, is a 50-foot long rope made from a Kevlar mesh that can survive up to 800 degree blazes. Should an emergency occur, the rope is removed sack, attached to a harness that fits around the fireman. The other end of the rope is attached to a sturdy support and the firefighter can lower himself out a window should an emergency arise. 

The bail-out bags were developed after three firefighters were killed on Jan. 23, 2005. According to published reports, two “jumped to their deaths to avoid a raging blaze in a tenement” on E. 178th Street in Morris Heights, Brooklyn, New York. The day would be known as “Black Sunday.”

The bags were developed by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) to save the lives of firefighters, said Kenneth Kiel, chief of the Haworth Fire Department. Kiel also works with AAA Emergency Supply Co., based in White Plains, New York, that sold the bail-out bags many area Fire Departments.

Kiel said that goal of these bail-out bags was not to replace standard firefighting procedures or safety and precaution, but to be used as a last line of defense to prevent another Black Sunday.

“We require hours of classwork and we also require 10 jumps and a recertification every six months,” said Kiel. 

According to Konash, 14 officers in the department have been trained as bail-out bag trainers. They will then train the rest of the department, and this will save the town $15,000 in training costs.

Besides the safety factor and the cost effectiveness of the bags, he said another benefit is that when the State of New Jersey mandates firefighters to wear the system (as it is already required in New York City), Mahwah will already be compliant.

“These bail-out bags are really last ditch efforts,” he said. “We have seen way too many jump-to-their-deaths to avoid being burned. This just makes it safer for everyone.”