On May 5, 2013, Detective Matthew Wilson of the Chester Police Department in Vermont responded to a front end loader fire in a 3-sided farmer’s bunker. When he arrived the loader was fully engulfed and as he approached, the loader exploded. Due to the nature of the enclosed concrete bunker, the concussive force of the blast was almost exclusively directed at Detective Wilson. The blast threw him 25 to 30 feet, where he landed unconscious.
He woke up to a woman leaning over him crying and was transported to Spring Field Hospital where he was diagnosed with a severe concussion and bruising on his arms and legs. His doctor stated this about his Safariland® GIIIA 4.0 armor in a letter to Safariland, “It is my belief that the body armor he was wearing under his uniform was able to dissipate the energy from the blast and, in turn, saved him from further serious injury and possibly death. I have been working in the field of Emergency Medicine for 16 years and I have been a part time police officer in Vermont for 10 years, and I can say, without a doubt that based on the kinematics of the force Officer Wilson was exposed to, his vest gave him a second chance that day.”
We welcome Detective Matthew Wilson, SAVE #1858, to The Safariland Group SAVES CLUB®.
