Recently I’ve gotten into watching “Rescue Me”. I’m sure the show is generally quite unrealistic from a “real world” perspective, but I have a question about something I’ve noticed - most of the characters have a flashlight taped to their helmet, along with something that looks like a doorstop…or a big wedge of cheese…what is it? I’m thinking some kind of wedge for breaking open doors?
It’s a doorstop - one of the legions of “last things” a fire fighter wants is for a door to close unexpectedly. This could lead to firefighters being trapped or changing the ventilation of the building, which could make the place fill with smoke.
I carry my door chock in my left leg pocket, and flashlight on my chest - there isn’t anything on my helmet. Although it “looks cool,” I’ve had a Mini-Mag flashlight on my helmet get hung up on something (I still don’t know what it was, I’m guessing wire, but I never found it afterward), so I keep my helmet as projection-free as possible.
According to my husband, Rescue Me is fairly realistic. More so then you would think.