Sometimes, you can only feel sure that your new gear is up to the task at the very moment you need it the most.
For one Norwood, Ohio, firefighter, that moment came when an axe fell on his head on the first fire call since his department took stock of LION’S Paul Conway Helmets.
In the YouTube video (right) uploaded in November last year, Firefighter Brandon Smith explains how the accident happened as his crew was exiting the basement after shutting off the structure’s utilities.
As he was leaving the building, a brother working on the roof accidentally dropped an axe, which struck Firefighter Smith on the head.
“I felt a thud and I didn’t know what it was. I looked on the ground and there was an axe,” he says in the video, adding that he’s lucky he isn’t dead or seriously injured. The only real damage his helmet sustained was a small nick.
One reason the Paul Conway line of firefighting helmets work as well as they do is that they fit perfectly. If that Ohio firefighter’s helmet was unstable on his head, if its suspension system hadn’t worked perfectly, his story could have ended very differently.
“For a helmet to function fully, it has got to sit correctly on your head,” Dave McClaskey, helmet product manager at LION, said. “Every head is a different size and shape, so the more a helmet is adjusted, the better it will fit your head.”
LION builds their nine-point configuration and “Center of Gravity” technologies into all their Paul Conway Helmets, allowing wearers to completely customize their helmet to their head.
Firefighters can easily adjust both the headband circumference and height of their helmets, which McClaskey said is a common feature in most firefighting helmets. Where Paul Conway Helmets stand apart is in their ability to adjust to your head’s center of gravity.
A pad — aptly called a “Center of Gravity Pad” — is adjustable forward or backward in the suspension system. Adjustment is completed by pulling a tab within the helmet so the pad moves forward or backward. It’s a key feature, McClaskey said, because when a helmet is centered and balanced it’s more comfortable to wear, meaning firefighters won’t experience the fatigue that comes from balancing an improperly balanced helmet on their heads.
“When it comes to the suspension system, it’s all about center of gravity. If it’s misbalanced and you’re hit in the head, the helmet may just slide off,” McClaskey said. “It’s primarily for comfort, but it also translates into an ability to evenly distribute shock, too.”
That’s an extremely important feature, whether or not an axe gets dropped on your head.
In creating their Paul Conway Helmets, LION aims to combine both tradition with the latest technical advancements in firefighting materials, design, and manufacturing. You can find them on the Web at wwwLionprotects.com/Paul-Conway-Helmets.