Jason Jacoby
Northeast Territory Manager

After his close friends became firefighters and detailed their rewarding experiences, Jason Jacoby became interested in the diverse and unpredictable nature of the job. He started out as a volunteer and found firefighting very rewarding, inspiring him to pursue a career in the field. One of the most memorable experiences he had as a firefighter was helping a woman deliver her baby safely.

Jason realized the importance of quality gear after a coworker was severely burned wearing inferior turnout gear. The incident left an impression, and when he was approached to join the sales team, Jason was excited to educate others on the importance of quality PPE. Now, he prides himself on being a firefighter who also educates first responders on three components of gear. He informs his customers about the suppliers of the materials that go into making quality PPE. Jason says this is his favorite part of the job because it helps everyone in the field. After one particular presentation to a career fire department, a Chief with 30 years of experience approached Jason to thank him for educating him on turnout gear, something he felt he needed more knowledge of despite his lengthy career.

“I emphasize that firefighters know a great deal about their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) but tend to know very little about their turnout gear,” said Jason, “Our turnout gear consists of the two components that keep firefighters safe.”

Jason says key factors that should be considered when selecting structural fire gear are the types of calls the fire department responds to, the number of calls it receives, its size, and the certified level of firefighters in its employ. Education is crucial. Ricochet provides products to departments by educating end users on what PPE is made of, who makes each of those three components, and evaluating the Thermal Protective Performance (TPP) and Total Heat Loss (THL).

“Our mission is to provide top quality PPE at a cost that is favorable, to provide more firefighters the protection they need,” said Jason, “Options given to the department facilitate for an interactive experience and allow the department to make fiscally responsible decisions on providing high-quality PPE.”