| Synopsis: |
From time to time, we hear a news item about the daring rescue of people trapped or lost performed by a range of rescue services that include firefighters, ambulance personnel, civil defense workers, the Coast Guard, and mountain, cave, and forest rescue teams. Increasingly over the century, rescue workers have become teams of specialists whose clothes are designed for the particular jobs they do. From the brightly colored uniforms of the early volunteer fire brigades to modern-day firefighters in 'hi-vis' coveralls and air packs, from the grizzled old mariners of the U.S. Life-Saving Service in their pea jackets and sou'westers, to wet-suited helicopter rescue swimmers who dive or are lowered into the sea, "Rescue Services" examines how uniforms and equipment have evolved over the course of the 20th century. |