CAROLINE COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF FIRE-RESCUE, AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
STANDARD OPERATING POLICY
Policy:
Uniform Dress Code
Scope:
Operational and Administrative Personnel
Authority:
Jason R. Loftus
Fire-EMS Chief
SOP #
102.01
Career /
Volunteer
Effective Date:
June 19, 2012
A. PURPOSE
This policy will outline the uniform and appearance standards set by the Caroline County Department of
Fire and Rescue for uniformed staff members.
B. STANDARD
Members must present themselves in a professional manner when representing Caroline County
Department of Fire and Rescue. The first impression of our agency should be one of professionalism and
competence whether at the scene of an emergency, interacting with the public at large or representing
Caroline County Department of Fire and Rescue among other agencies.
C. GUIDELINES
1. All issued uniforms are property of Caroline County Government
2. All personnel are required to produce, upon demand by the County Fire Chief, or his/her designee,
any issued uniform items and/or official equipment.
3. At no time will any member of the Department wear his/her uniform or parts thereof during off-duty
hours except as follows:
All or part of the department uniforms may be worn to special events by department
personnel when approved by the Chief or his/her designee.
Personnel may wear a Class A, B, C or D uniform to and from work. Short stops for
personal business while in uniform are permitted as long as this activity is not considered
contrary to the Department’s public image.
4. Members assigned to station locations, will dress in the same class (typically "D") of uniform except
in those situations involving business inspections or other public relations activities in which case
the class "B"/”C” uniform will be worn.
5. As a general rule, administrative officer staff shall dress in Class “B” (Standard Time) or Class “C”
(Daylight Savings Time) uniforms with white shirts and black or navy pants and ties; however, they
may choose other attire based on their scheduled activity.
6. All staff may choose to wear business or business casual attire to attend outside County training or
meetings if they desire.
7. During work hours, members are required to dress and groom themselves in such a manner as to
reflect a positive professional image of the Department. Any manner of dress or personal hygiene
that is disruptive shall be considered inappropriate.
8. Uniforms or protective clothing shall be maintained in a neat, clean and operational state, free of
rips, tears, and holes.
9. Members shall not remain in any state of undress or semi-undress during working hours.
10. Shirt tails shall be tucked in and boots completely laced/zipped.
SOP 102.01
11. At no time will any member while in uniform exhibit any behavior, including the consumption of
alcohol, which would be considered detrimental to the image of the Department.
12. The logo(s) of the Department are considered proprietary and may not be affixed to any thing or
reproduced in any manner without the expressed written approval of the Fire – EMS Chief.
13. Any issued part of clothing is considered to be the property of the Department and may not be worn
except when performing assigned duties unless special permission has been granted. For example,
members playing in a charity golf tournament may seek permission to wear department golf shirts to
promote unity among members.
14. At no time while wearing any Caroline County Department of Fire and Rescue identifying article of
clothing, issued or otherwise, will a member conduct themselves in any manner that would not be
appropriate if on duty.
15. Under garments comprised of dry-wicking fabric (such as Under Armour for example) are
prohibited as they are not designed to be worn in live fire situations and may result in potential
injuries.
16. Each employee is responsible for his or her own uniforms. Each employee shall ensure that
adequate uniform items are possessed for the appropriate shifts throughout the work year.
17. Should a uniform item become damaged and contaminated please notify your on-duty supervisor for
the proper replacements
D. CAREER UNIFORM CLASSIFICATIONS:
1. Class "A" Formal Dress
Dress Coat with approved Department patches, badge, and collar pins.
White long sleeve shirt with necktie, approved patches, badge, and name
plate
"T" shirt is worn, white in color
Blue/Black trousers with black belt
Black shoes, polished, w/black socks
Dress Hat, as needed
Personnel: Chief Officers & Captains
Events: Funerals, Court, Ceremonies, Presentations or as directed.
2. Class "B" Dress
Long sleeved white / blue shirt with approved Department/EMS certification
patches, name plate, and badge
Blue/Black Necktie
Blue/Black trousers with black belt
Black boots/shoes polished w/ black socks
"T" shirt is worn, white in color
Approved/issued headwear and jacket as needed
Personnel: Chief Officers, Captains, Lieutenants, Fire-Medics
Events: Funerals, Court, Ceremonies, Presentations, Official Events or as
directed.
SOP 102.01
3. Class "C" Summer Dress
Short sleeved white / blue shirt with approved Department/EMS certification
patches, nameplate, and badge
Blue/Black trousers with black belt
Black boots/shoes polished w/black socks
"T" shirt is worn, white in color
Approved/issued headwear and jacket as needed
Personnel: Chief Officers, Captains, Lieutenants
Events: Meetings, Office Work, Incident Response, Special Events, Public
Appearance as directed
4. Class "D" Work
Golf shirts or job shirts
Blue/Black trousers with black belt
Black boots, polished
Approved/issued headwear and jacket as needed
Blue or white “T” shirts may be worn. Departmental “T” shirt may be worn
under golf shirt.
*During some training exercises, a prescribed uniform may be required and
may include, firefighter turn out gear and other dress as may be deemed
appropriate.
*”T” shirts may also be worn during the summer months or as approved by a
Supervisor for station duties, but shall not be worn for incident response.
Personnel: Chief Officers, Captains, Lieutenants, Fire-Medic.
* Chief officers shall not wear Department Tee shirt in public.
Events: Meetings, Office Work, Incident Response, Special Events, Public
Appearance as directed
5. Class E: Work-out Uniform
Blue Department issued tee-shirts
Department issued shorts
Appropriate footwear.
This class of uniform shall not be worn outside of the workout area/station.
Field staff/Chief Officers may wear department “T” shirts to respond to calls
that occur while dressed for performing physical training, but must wear
turn-out pants or work pants.
Personnel: Chief Officers, Captains, Lieutenants, Fire-Medic
Events: Fitness related activities.
6. SOCKS, SHOES, BELTS & HATS
Dark blue (solid color) or black socks will be worn with all uniforms except Class D. White
socks may be worn should the employee wear 8” boots.
Shoes will be ANSI compliant. All shoes/boots will have safety toe or steel toe and will be black
and shined. Non department issued footwear shall be approved prior to use.
Employees must wear the department issued belt or one that is approved by the chief.
Only Department issued baseball style hats or knit hats may be worn. Hats will be worn with the
bill centered over the nose.
Knit hats may be worn during winter months and must be centered over the head.
SOP 102.01
E. UNIFORM PATCHES
Department: Department patches may be applied to uniform shirts and coats on each sleeve, or applied
to the left chest of job shirts.
EMS Certification: EMS certification patches may be applied to the right sleeve of short sleeve shirts
in lieu of Department patches
Volunteer Agency: Volunteer agency patches may be applied in place of Department patches. Should
a combination of patches be used (one Department and one Agency), the agency patch shall be applied
to the right sleeve.
F. DEPARTMENT INSIGNIAS
Badges as issued will be worn on the uniform class “A”, “B” and “C” shirt or coat above the left
breast pocket.
Name plates will be worn centered over the right breast pocket of uniforms shirts with the pin
parallel to and touching the top of the pocket.
Collar insignias issued will be worn one (l) inch above the tip of the uniform shirt collar and
centered on the collar.
Collar Devices
Fire-EMS Chief
5 crossed gold bugles
Deputy Chief
4 crossed gold bugles
District Chief / Ast. District Chief
3 crossed gold bugles
Battalion Chief
2 crossed gold bugles
Captain
2 parallel gold bugles
Lieutenant
1 parallel gold bugle
Firefighter – Medic
silver firefighter scramble insignia
Firefighter
silver firefighter scramble insignia
Medic / EMT
white / blue medical star
1. Commendation Bars and Award Pins
Only department issued awards and bars allowed. Individuals who receive department issued
commendation bars may display them on their uniform above the name plate. The lighter
color of the bar should be toward the outside of the body.
Non-department issued pins and buttons may only be worn with prior approval.
Dress Coat: Rank and Years of Service designation
Members may have a gold Maltese Cross (cloth material type) attached to the left sleeve.
One cross per five years of service to Caroline County Fire-Rescue Department as a career
and/or volunteer member.
All chiefs shall have gold rings around jacket sleeves.
Jacket Rings
Fire-EMS Chief
Deputy Chief
5 gold rings
4 gold rings
SOP 102.01
District Chief / Ast. District Chief
Battalion Chief
Captains
3 gold rings
2 gold rings
1 gold rings
Dress Hat:
Shall be white in color and of the Bell type. Hats shall be styled according to below:
Hat Straps
Fire-EMS Chief
Deputy Chief
District Chief
Battalion Chief
Captain
Gold chin strap
Gold chin strap
Gold chin strap
Gold chin strap
Black chin strap
Black bill
Black bill
Black bill
Black bill
Black bill
G. UNIFORM ISSUE
The following section covers the initial issue of uniforms for career personnel. New issues due to
promotion or reassignment will be governed by this policy. Uniform items issued by the Department
will be issued directly to the employee from Logistics personnel, and will require the employee to sign
an Equipment Custody Receipt Form before removing the issued items.
Description
Ball Cap
Knit Hat
Dark blue t- shirts
Short Sleeve Polo’s
Job shirts
Jacket
Work Pants
Exercise shorts
Station boots
Short sleeve Badge shirt
Part-time
1- on request
1- on request
2
2
2
1
2
1
$100/2years
-
Fire-Medic’s
1- on request
1- on request
2
5
3
1
5
1
1 or $150/2
years
-
Lieutenant’s
1- on request
1- on request
2
5
3
1
5
1
1 or $150/2
years
1
Captain’s
1- on request
1- on request
2
5
3
1
5
1
1 or $150/2
years
1 (4 if assigned to
Chief’s
1- on request
1- on request
2
4
2
1
5
1
1 or $150/2
years
4
4
1
2
2
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
Long sleeve Badge shirt
-
1
1
Admin Duties)
1 (4 if assigned to
Admin Duties)
Work Belt Silver buckle
Work Belt Gold buckle
Name tag
Badge
Collar pins
Uniform tie
Dress coat
Dress pants
Dress shoes
Dress hat
Hat badge
1
-
1
1
1
1
1
-
1
1
1
1
1
-
1
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
SOP 102.01
H. SPARE UNIFORM
Career personnel shall maintain one clean/spare Class “D” uniform shirt and pants at their station while
on duty.
I. DISCONTINUED UNIFORM ISSUE
Overtime, uniform issuance and amounts may be changed. It shall be at the discretion of the Fire-EMS
Chief to either phase out old uniforms or make a full replacement of non-used or past issued items.
1. Discontinued career use items
On July 1, 2012 the following items shall be discontinued for use:
Long Sleeve Polos
Turtle necks or mock turtle necks
Tactical work pants with side pockets
Jump Suits
2. Phased out items
These items may continue to be used or worn. They shall not be replaced at the end of the life cycle.
Gerber multi-tool
CCFR brass belt buckle
J.
UNIFORM ORDERING/REPLACEMENT
1. Bulk Uniform replacement ordering shall be completed annually, in a time frame determined by the
Fire-EMS Chief.
2. Personnel in need of replacement uniforms shall complete a Clothing Request Form.
3. The Station Officer shall verify the need for the replacement before approving the request.
4. The employee will then present the items to be exchanged on a one-for-one basis to Logistics.
5. All replaced items shall come under the scrutiny of the Logistics Officer for final approval of the
exchange.
6. If the employee does not have an item to exchange, they may be denied the ability to obtain
uniforms through Logistics.
7. Clothing that is no longer usable shall be returned to Logistics.
8. All personnel must report the loss or damage of any uniform items and official equipment to their
supervisor. To receive replacement uniforms, a Loss/Damage Report must be completed, signed by
the station officer and brought to Logistics. This type of replacement shall be on an as needed basis.
9. Stolen badges, identification cards, or items valued at $50 or more replacement cost, must be
reported to the County Sheriff’s Office.
10. The supervisor will be responsible to investigate the incident and forward their findings via the
chain-of command to the Deputy Chief.
11. If the loss or damage is found to be a result of negligence, the item will be replaced at the
employee’s expense.
K. SEPARATION FROM SERVICE
Personnel who are terminated, retired, or have resigned must return all Department-issued uniforms and
accessories to Logistics prior to the employee’s official signoff.
SOP 102.01
The County Fire Chief, or his/ her designee, will determine items to be surrendered and items that may
be retained by these personnel.
L. VOLUNTEER UNIFORMS (Duty / Staffing Shifts)
1. Caroline County Fire/Rescue Issued Uniforms
Volunteer uniforms will be distributed by the individual’s assigned station officer. Fire
Administration will supply each station with appropriate uniforms per the budget. The
assigned station officer shall order uniforms through Logistics. Bulk uniform orders shall be
made at the designated order period however will be filled on an as-needed basis.
The Fire-EMS Chief shall approve individual Station Uniform requests (hats and shirts), and
Personalization of Uniforms requests as they are received through Logistics
2. Company specific apparel to be worn on responses.
The Fire-EMS Chief shall approve any station apparel that shall be worn during Operational
activities or other activities representing Caroline County.
Approval of logos and designs is to ensure a professional appearance of responders, and that
there is no inappropriate language or graphics representing the County or the Fire-Rescue
Department.
Approval of such designs or logos does not imply the approved items are considered an
“official” uniform or apparel of the Department of Fire Rescue.
Any use of the Caroline County seal, Department patch, or any wording representing or
which could be interpreted as the Caroline County Fire Rescue Department must have the
approval of the Fire – EMS Chief. Designs and samples should be submitted for approval
utilizing the chain of command.
3. Volunteer Uniforms When Responding Off Duty
Members responding from home/community when not on duty shall not be subject to the
specific uniform requirements of this policy; however, members should be mindful that they
are representing the Department. Members shall not wear anything that is considered
offensive or inappropriate.
M. FORMS
i.
Uniform Order Forms (Rank Specific)
SOP 102.01