Patent ID: 8291514

Claim:
A protective garment for use by a firefighter or other emergency worker, the garment comprising: an outer shell having a torso covering portion with an inner surface and an outer surface; a belt having a width and a length extending around the outer surface of the torso covering portion; an attachment cooperating between the belt and the outer surface of the torso covering portion to limit movement of the belt along the length of the belt relative to the torso covering portion; and a belt receiving tunnel on the torso covering portion, the tunnel including an outer wall that is permanently fixed to the outer surface of the torso covering portion, the outer wall having a wall portion that is movable between a closed position enclosing the belt in the tunnel and an open position allowing access to the attachment, wherein the belt resides: a) outside of the outer surface of the torso covering portion; and b) captively between the outer wall and the outer surface of the torso covering portion at locations around a wearer's torso, wherein the tunnel has a length extending around the torso covering portion and a width and the width of the belt occupies a majority of the width of the tunnel.