Tuesday, August 31, 2010 After finishing up with a car-bicycle wreck, we loaded up and cleared the scene. The driver of my apparatus decided to turn around in a parking lot in order to make a quicker trip back to the station. As the apparatus made the left hand turn into the parking lot, my door popped open and I started to slide out the door. Thankfully, I was wearing my seat belt (as I always do) and it kept me from falling out. The officer's seat in our apparatus is a tight fit and apparently I did not get the door completely shut. After we reported back to the station, one of the privates wanted to watch a training film. I picked one out about apparatus response, which I am passionate about. Unknown to me, the video told the story of a firefighter that was not wearing his seat belt who died in the line of duty after his door opened while responding on a call. I was able to offer my experience from the earlier run as an example that it can happen to us. LESSONS LEARNED: ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT!!!!! It was only 30 seconds after we cleared from the incident and traveling at low speeds, but a serious injury or death could have occurred. Make sure that belt is buckled before the vehicle starts moving. Make sure your apparatus doors close properly. If they don't, take the vehicle out of service to get fixed.