Fire Protection Training: Bunker Gear

Why do firefighters wear red suspenders?

To hold their pants up.

The 2009 Fire Prevention Week theme, “Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burn” is an outlook every fire fighter can take to heart when facing a raging fire on the fire ground. One basic and important item that helps keep the fire fighter from getting burned is the safe use of structure protective clothing or what I call as well as other fire fighters, “bunker gear.” There’s structural bunker gear for the building or MVA fire and there is also the ARFF bunker gear or silver proximity suit for aircraft fires/incidents. Both types of bunker gear I have worn, used, and it has provide me protection to a certain degree of keeping from getting burned. The bunker gear is not fire proof or fire resistant and all who wear this type of personal protective equipment (PPE) need to know what the limitations are. Let’s review some basic aspects of both types of bunker gear:

Structural Bunker Gear:

Structural fire fighters’ protective clothing is designed to protect its wearer from the thermal environments experienced during fire fighting. This includes protection from thermal radiation, hot gas convection, and heat conduction from hot surfaces. Fire fighters may receive serious burn injuries from each of these modes of heat transfer or a combination of them even though they are wearing protective clothing. In addition, fire fighters’ protective clothing is often wet when it becomes heated by the fire fighting environment. Hot vapors and steam are generated inside protective clothing systems that also produce serious burn injuries. Fire fighters’ protective clothing has definite physical limits associated with its ability to protect the wearer. These safe use limits are poorly understood and are not addressed in current fire service protective clothing standards.

Research groups are studying these physical safe use limits for thermal performance of fire fighters’ protective clothing, and developing new test apparatus and predictive tools that will provide insight into the causes of burn injuries. This effort is helping to develop a better understanding and define the safe use limits of fire service protective clothing. As a result, this research effort will assist in reducing the number of serious fire fighter injuries.

Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) Bunker Gear:

Aircraft firefighting/rescue protective clothing (also known as the proximity suit), better known as "silvers/silver bunker suit" is a fire suit designed to protect a firefighter from high radiant fire loads, such as those produced by JP fuels or other bulk flammable fuels. They are worn for aircraft firefighting. They are currently manufactured from vacuum deposited aluminized materials that reflect the high radiant loads produced by the fire. The suits are certified to meet the National Fire Protection Association Standard NFPA 1976-2000, Standard on Protective Ensemble for Proximity Fire Fighting.

Aircraft firefighting/rescue protective clothing is a prime safety consideration for personnel engaged in firefighting and rescue work. Metalized protective clothing offers a means of providing protection to firefighters because of its high percentage of reflectivity to radiant heat. It is important to point out that these garments are not classified as entry suits, but are known as proximity clothing to be worn with firefighter boots that have safety toes and soles.

Firefighters assigned ARFF duties shall be provided with a complete set of protective clothing that meets appropriate NFPA standards. A complete set of protective clothing includes trousers, coat, gloves, nomex hood and proximity helmet or hood and boots.

How do you don personal protective clothing for structural fire and aircraft fires/incidents? Simply put, you put it on to fully provide protection using all bunker gear issued to you.

Proper protective clothing is issued to each firefighter and its use is mandatory on any fire ground. Your personal safety and your value as a crew member depends on your utilization of the personal protective clothing correctly.

Here are a few YouTube videos where Captain Joe Bruni shows how to properly don structural personal protective clothing.…

With fire protection training to become qualified and certified in wearing the SCBA here’s Captain Joe Bruni once again showing in this YouTube video of putting it all together in donning both bunker gear along with the SCBA.…

Because of the variety of situations and exposures firefighters encounter, it is very difficult to provide personal protective clothing and equipment that will meet all needs. The firefighter must fully understand the shortcomings and limitations of various items of clothing and not exceed those limitations through training and use on the fire ground.

Regardless of the degree of protection afforded by any piece of clothing or equipment, much of the effectiveness will be lost if firefighters are not fully trained in its use and maintenance. The correct usage and maintenance of all items of protective equipment are heavily dependent on the individual firefighter's attitude, training and maintenance knowledge. All types of equipment are vulnerable to various forms of deterioration and failure of this piece of equipment would be extremely hazardous. Firefighters should receive instruction on inspecting equipment for deterioration or malfunction and trained, where applicable, in correcting defects.

Don’t get burned by not wearing fire protective equipment hap-hazardously, wear it correctly, and Be Fire Safe.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Fire Protection Training: SCBA

With 2009 Fire/EMS Safety, Health, and Survival Week ending last week, the one key statement that stands out and everyone should remember as well as practice is “Protect Yourself, Your Safety, Your Responsibility.” This outlook needs to be practiced 24/7 by all fire fighters and first responders. Equipment we use and vehicles we respond in need to be safe and this is initially done from our equipment inspections, checks, and training. As an emergency first responder, be it Fire Fighter, Haz-Mat, EMS, or Law Enforcement, it’s each of our responsibility to perform as best we can and as safely as we can.

The Self-Contain Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) is one of the many important pieces of emergency equipment that’s used on the fire ground. The SCBA is an intriagal part of the overall PPE for the fire fighter to use when call for. SCBA are one of the most effective and potently hazardous pieces of equipment that can be used in the field. They allow us to go into extremely hazardous situations and may give a false scene of security if fire fighters are not careful in their uses. Training is necessary and vital in knowing without hesitation the proper use/operation of the SCBA.

It is extremely important to know the SCBA’s limitations when using. Understanding the pack’s operation, how to maintain it, and check the air pack is equally important. The fire fighter also needs to be familiar with the SCBA’s safety features and able to use the air pack in a zero visibility environment if need be.

Some regulations that the fire fighter needs to know about are able to refer to and familiar with during training class room sessions are:

- OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard–29 CFR 1910.134–Respiratory Protection Requirements.

- NPPA: 1440-Standard for Fire Services Respiratory Protection Training

1852-Standard on Selective, Care, and Maintenance of Open-Circuit Self-Contained

Breathing Apparatus.

Other references the SCBA user needs to refer to for information concerning proper use and operation is the Essentials of Fire Fighting Forth Edition, IFSTA and the NFPA Standard 1500.

There are basically six SCBA components that make up an air pack: Cylinder, Harness/Back-plate, Low Pressure Warning Device, High Pressure Hose, Regulator Assemble, and Face piece Assemble. The air cylinder can be a 30 or 60 minute rated at 4500 psi. To hold and carry the cylinder as well as having straps for carrying is the harness/back-plate. You have low pressure warning device to warn you when the air supply is running low and activates when working pressure is at 25% (3-4 minutes) of air left. A high pressure hose carries at, at cylinder pressure, from the cylinder to the first and second stage regulators where the air pressure is stepped down. First stage regulator is mounted on the side backpack and you have your face piece mounted regulator. The two regulators reduce the air pressure starting 4500 psi, stepping it down to about 100 psi in the face piece to be able to breathe in an Immediately Dangerous to Life & Health (IDLH) atmosphere. The face piece covers/protects and provides inhalation and exhalation of low pressure air.

Inspection of the SCBA should be either daily, weekly, monthly depending on how your department is setup for using equipment, and always an after use inspection. It is imperative to perform inspections and document the inspections. Failure to do so may lead to injury or death. All personnel that use the SCBA should be fully knowledgeable on proper inspection of unit.

The demonstration of the operation of SCBA, which is to put it on, needs to be performed at every training session and class. Doing so prior to a fire department drill, live fire exercise, and of course the real world emergency will better prepare the first responder that will have to use the SCBA on the emergency scene. SCBA training and review should be done monthly and at a minimum every three months. This training should be properly documented. Personnel that respond and at anytime need to put the SCBA into use should become proficient in donning within 1 minute 30 second.

Donning SCBA Overhead Method:

Donning SCBA Coat Method:

The SCBA is only going to be as good as the inspection and training conducted of the air pack prior to use, so you know it will work correctly, and the knowledge in using it. The person wearing the air pack needs to be in good health and physically fit. Heart attacks are still the number one killer of fire fighters. The use of the SCBA increases cardiovascular work and heat stress on the fire fighter. If you experience any shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, chest pain, light headedness, or confusion while using the SCBA you need to get to re-hab and seek medical attention. Do not take these early warning signs and symptoms lightly. Listen to your body because it will tell you that you need to back off, stop, and get over to re-hab. Prevention to physical stress factors, the fire fighter should keep hydrated, keep physically fit, and re-hab frequently on long fire ground operations. Most important is to know your limitations and quit before there is a problem.

It should be stressed that safety in all aspects of fire fighting duties are part of our attitude, training , and awareness. Proper knowledge, training, and use of the self-contained breathing apparatus is necessary to help provide as best as one could expect a safe environment for the fire fighter that may and eventually will use.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)