SCBA COMPETENCE AND CONFIDENCE
Firefighter training is a difficult and endless process. Every task—from forcible entry to ventilation, extrication, and hoseline movement —must be reviewed and reinforced continually so that a firefighter’s duties can be carried out quickly and correctly when circumstances dictate. One technique that should receive even more frequent and intense attention than it sometimes is given is the use of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). SCBA is an important component of firefighting—many activities are performed in conjunction with breathing apparatus. Any firefighter authorized to operate with SCBA must have a thorough understanding of the following aspects of self-contained breathing apparatus.
MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION
A well-maintained SCBA will provide its wearer with the protection for which it was designed and intended. To ensure its maintenance, SCBA should be inspected weekly or even daily and after each use.
During an inspection, check all straps and hardware—regulator, face piece, cylinder, bracket or backplate, hoses, gauges, and valves. If all components are serviceable or in ready condition, then perform a functional check specific to the SCBA. During an inspection following use, identify any damaged parts or attach a full cylinder to an otherwise undamaged apparatus. Damaged or otherw ise unserviceable SCBA should be removed from service and tagged for repair.
Members given the responsibility of inspecting SCBA must be capable of changing an empty cylinder. Obviously, firefighters who exit a fire building with empty cylinders will be of little value if they cannot change them. A working knowledge of SCBA is essential. One common problem with certain types of SCBA is the deterioration of the small “O” ring where the highpressure hose connects to the cylinder threads. This requires a simple repair that any firefighter who wears an SCBA should be able to perform.
DONNING
Removing an SCBA from the fire apparatus and placing it in position on your back is known as donning the SCBA. Many fire apparatus have SCBA brackets mounted behind each riding position, from where firefighters can don the SCBA from a seated position. In these situations, simply insert your arms through the straps and pull away from the brackets; the SCBA will be on your back. On other apparatus, SCBA are mounted in compartments that must be opened after arrival on the fireground. In this case, either turn your back to the compartment and don the SCBA in a manner similar to that used for an SCBA on a seatmounted bracket or, if the SCBA is mounted in an inverted position, use the “over-the-head” method. If SCBA are carried in cases on the apparatus, firefighters must be instructed on the method of removing and donning the devices from their cases. This is true for any SCBA that have been removed at the fire scene for use or cylinder replacements.
Firefighters must be capable of redonning from the ground the SCBA they have doffed (taken off). Several techniques can be employed for donning SCBA from the ground; the two most common are the “over-thehead” and the “coat-” or “swing* around” methods. Each has its advantages and drawbacks. Generally, use the method with which you feel most comfortable.
An aspect of SCBA related to donning is the ability’ to wear it properly in conjunction with protective clothing. Collars and hoods must be in position and not caught under SCBA straps or belts. Helmet chin straps must be worn as prescribed, which may necessitate passing mask hoses through the chin strap or unbuckling the strap until the SCBA face piece is | in place.
EMERGENCY BREATHING PROCEDURES
Partial or complete interruptions of air supply to an SCBA face piece can and do occur. If your SCBA fails while you are operating in a hostile environment and you are unfamiliar with emergency procedures, you suddenly may be subjected to deadly heat and smoke conditions from which you will have no escape. In the case of a malfunction or air depletion, the most ! important rule to remember and apply is Do not remove your face piece. Following are several of the most common SCBA emergencies firefighters may encounter and a suggested remedy or action for each emergency.
- Air supply suddenly stops. Activate emergency bypass or purge valve (usually red knobs or rings).
- Air supply depleted. For face piece-mounted regulators, remove the regulator and hold a gloved hand over the opening to filter out smoke. For face pieces with low-pressure hose, remove the hose from the regulator and place it inside your turnout coat or hold a gloved hand over its end to filter out smoke.
- Face piece cracked, broken, or punctured. Hold a gloved hand over the damaged area to reduce loss of air and the possibility of inhaling contaminants.
- Ripped or severed low-pressure hose on face piece. Use gloved hands to cover the ripped area or to hold the two ends of hose together.
- Air from regulator discharging uncontrollably. Reach back and partially close the cylinder valve to conserve air loss. This may require depressing the cylinder valve as it is closed.
- Audible leak from hose connection at cylinder. Reach around and tighten hose to cylinder (you must know the correct direction in which to tighten).
You must learn and practice all of these procedures before you are qualified to operate with SCBA in a hostile environment. In even’ situation described above, your first action would be to immediately notify your officer or partner and then leave the area with another firefighter.
RESTRICTED AREA MANEUVERS
In addition to technical problems with the SCBA itself, structural or fire conditions may prevent you from continuing into or retreating from a location in a fire building. Sometimes you may be required to maneuver through a space or opening that is too small for a firefighter wearing a normally donned SCBA to negotiate. Examples of such unusually small openings are normal doors that are blocked from completely opening, wall studs (if fire blocks other egress), fire escapes, and fences or gates. In such a situation, you must relocate the SCBA from your back to another location, making it possible for both you and your mask to pass through the opening.
To perform a “reduced profile” maneuver, regardless of the type of mask used, loosen and remove your right-side shoulder strap, leaving your waist belt connected (this is applicable for almost every type of SCBA), grasp the waist belt in front and the neck of the cylinder in the rear, and rotate the cylinder to a position on the left side of your body. Several brands of SCBA have a chest buckle connecting the two shoulder straps. If using this type of equipment, you must remove the chest buckle before performing a reduced profile maneuver. Perform the remainder of the procedure as described above.
The second maneuver that can be used for restricted-area operations is to completely remove all of the SCBA except the face piece. This may be necessary if an opening is so small that you need to push your SCBA ahead of you or have it lowered into an opening after you have descended into it. To perform this maneuver, first remove the chest buckles (if applicable) and then loosen both shoulder straps. While loosening the shoulder straps, maintain a firm grasp of the left strap and maintain your grasp from this point on to avoid dropping the SCBA, w hich almost certainly would pull the face piece off your face. After removing the right arm from the shoulder strap, use your right hand to release the w aist strap buckle. The SCBA now will be held solely by your left hand. At this point, pass the SCBA up or down to another firefighter and follow closely behind with the face piece still in place. You also can employ this maneuver if your SCBA becomes entangled on an object behind you and you need to turn around to address the problem.
Both of the maneuvers described above are simple and can be performed with most SCBA on the market today. With a little intensive practice, you can master the techniques in a single evening. However, you must practice the techniques frequently so that if the need arises, you will not have to stop and think but will be able to act immediately to remove yourself from a dangerous situation.
FACE PIECE FAMILIARITY
Several situations might require you to disconnect from the air supply while keeping the face piece on your face. Several of these situations, described earlier, are emergency breathing procedures. Another such situation would be when your empty cylinder must be replaced following your exit from a structure. If another member replaces your bottle at the scene, you won’t even have to remove the SCBA. However, you will have to remove either the low-pressure hose from the regulator or the regulator from the face piece. Thus, you must know how to remove or disconnect the air supply without removing your face piece. Some face piece-mounted regulators have very small spring clips that arc difficult to find with a gloved hand. On the low-pressure hose type of face piece, you must know in which direction to turn the threaded connection to disconnect the hose from the regulator. The lack of this basic knowledge could result in your pulling off the entire face piece to breathe, which also probably would knock off or tangle the helmet chin strap, causing even more difficulty.
(Photos by author.)
CYLINDER VALVE DIRECTION
Stop and think for a minute: In which direction would you turn an SCBA cylinder valve to turn it on while you were wearing it? Would you turn it in the same direction as you would if the SCBA were on the ground in front of you? Cylinder valves may be located on the left or on the right. This means you must use a different hand (and a different direction) to open or close the valve. Ihe valve also may be located on the bottom of a cylinder. Again, only familiarity with your department’s equipment will guarantee your ability to operate safely and efficiently.
ALARM
Whether your SCBA alarm is a bell, a whistle, or a vibrating device, if you use SCBA in fire operations, you must be able to identify your alarm, distinguish it from the sound of the alarms of firefighters around you, and know what to do if it sounds.
An alarm may activate for any of several reasons, including low air, a regulator malfunction, or even an alarm malfunction. Regardless of the reason, there is one universal rule to follow when your alarm sounds: Leave immediately with a partner and notify an officer or other member in the area of your situation. An important point to remember is that you do not know the reason the alarm is sounding. Even if you think the alarm is indicating low air, it could be indicating a malfunction that might interrupt your air supply at any moment. For this reason, a firefighter whose alarm has activated and has made the proper notifications must be accompanied by another firefighter to a safe area outside the building.
STRAPS, BUCKLES, AND BELTS
Since numerous makes and different types of SCBA are in use today, it is important for firefighters to be familiar with the different types of straps, belts, and buckles used to hold the SCBA on the body. Many of the newest SCBA have only two shoulder straps with alligator clips and a waist belt with a seat belt-type buckle. Other SCBA have a similar strap setup but use a different type of buckle. One SCBA on the market today features shoulder straps that tighten in conjunction with the fastening of the waist strap. The point is that, if you don’t frequently practice donning and doffing your SCBA, you may not even be able to properly don it, never mind be proficient with it. At a recent mask confidence course, a student was attempting to don an SCBA within the prescribed time and quality parameters but did not even come close because he could not figure out how to tighten his waist strap. After fumbling for 30 seconds or so with the various straps, he moved on to other, more familiar steps. When he was done, his waist strap was hanging so low in front of him that he would have been unable to crawl without getting tangled up. He may have done everything else perfectly, but a single factor—an unsecured waist strap —put him in a position in which he was unable to operate.
All over the country, mask confidence courses are being taught to firefighters to increase their faith in themselves and in their ability to operate with self-contained breathing apparatus with composure under stress. If firefighters are not already competent and familiar with the SCBA in use in their departments, they are more than unprepared for such an advanced course of instruction—they may be unprepared to operate with this lifesaving equipment at all. The purpose of reviewing SCBA components and operations is to stress that we must be competent before we can be confident *
