Jimmy Berry, a Florida firefighter of over twenty years and instructor for VentEnterSearch, is passionate about educating and training firefighters for aggressive rescue tactics in the fire service.
Jimmy began the company with some friends, furthering their desire to teach the next generation about what he calls “the lost art of fighting fire.” Now Jimmy travels the country teaching firefighting tactics.
At first, he and his fellow instructors used 15-year-old gear they found on eBay. That led to some real concerns about safety—both from flames and the toxins they were exposed to during their long hours of live-fire training.
Finally, Jimmy decided to reach out to a representative and got connected with Fire-Dex where he was fitted for high-end gear that would actually protect him. “It’s been an amazing experience so far,” he says.
Jimmy wears AeroFlex during his long days of intense training, putting the durability and comfort of AeroFlex to the test.
“This is big league stuff,” Jimmy says. “Knowing that you’re not getting exposed to so many toxins is just such a relief.”
Still more impressive is the comfort that Jimmy experiences while wearing his AeroFlex turnouts. “When we were doing FDIC, we did 303 fires,” Jimmy explains. “And none of us were fatigued. None of us had the heat exposure like we’ve had before.” And after a career of working under the hot Florida sun, Jimmy would know.
Despite the superior comfort and absence of fatigue Jimmy experienced with his AeroFlex gear, what he seems most impressed with is the fit and sizing of his turnouts. Fire-Dex sent employees to Jimmy’s department to size all the firefighters. Jimmy was stunned. “We're the third-largest department in the state of Florida. And just the fact that they had people come out and actually size almost 1,500 members was, like, I don't know. I never heard of that.”
He says that the highlight of the process was simply being treated with the care and attention that’s usually reserved for much larger departments. He says he was amazed by “the customer service with the way that they handled out the sizing and the trial wear of the gear. Right when we first went with Fire-Dex, I was blown away. So that was something that stuck out to me.” “The gear speaks for itself.” Jimmy says. “It sells itself.”
Jimmy attests to the quality and design of the gear, admiring the way that it was fit specifically to his body. He says, “I feel like when Fire-Dex personally sizes you, they're sizing you for gear that's not gonna be, like, too tight on you or too big on you where it's, like, just right. It creates that perfect air pocket.” To Jimmy, this provides him with superior protection and mobility.
In the past, Jimmy says that personal touch hasn’t been the case. He compares this experience with Fire-Dex to the last gear sizing that he had, saying that the previous company didn’t really care if his turnouts fit him properly.
“It was like, oh, this guy looks like a 32. And if he didn't fit in it, it was kinda like, well, on the next round, we'll get you a bigger set.” So, when Fire-Dex came in to personally size him for his AeroFlex turnouts, he was especially grateful.
Jimmy values the protection that his AeroFlex gear provides, and with that, he is thankful for the peace of mind it gives him. “I've been around a long time,” Jimmy says. “I've had some nasty gear, and this is legit.”