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Keep Your Shears Handy

Most of us carry trauma shears in a pants’ leg pocket. When you’re in a bit of a rush, getting the shears back in the pocket is not that easy; the slot is small. Personally, I have been known to simply stick then in my regular pant pocket, unless they’re grossly contaminated. Of course, that’s not very sanitary either. Anything on them is now on everything in that pocket: keys, cell phone, wallet, money, you name it.

A buddy of mine showed me a little trick. Basically, get yourself a key-ring carabiner from the gas station, and clip it into one of the grips on the shears. Carry them as you normally do, but when you use them, clip them onto a belt loop or something else convenient like a backboard strap.

Veteran firefighter Scott Cook writes about the wide range of decisions that effect firefighters every day. His FireRescue1 exclusive column, ‘Firefighter Note to Self,’ will keep you informed about everything from SOGs to firefighting war stories to company officer elections.