News: New SCBA on the way! IAFF news release

Federal Contract Gives IAFF Lead in Developing Lighter Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus

Washington, DC – The Department of Homeland Security has awarded the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) a $2 million contract to develop a new pressure vessel that will make the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) worn by first responders substantially thinner and lighter.

Smaller, lighter SCBA will improve fire fighter safety.

“The IAFF is proud of its record as the leader in the development of projects that provide direct benefits to fire fighter health and safety. With all the recent technological developments and new materials we can work with, it’s time to fast-track the introduction of new, lighter, less stressful, but highly protective equipment,” IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger said.

The cylinders that contain the pressure vessels in existing SCBA account for much of the weight and size of the units. The weight and profile of those cylinders has been associated with increased rates of injury and fatalities for emergency responders.

The IAFF is working with Vulcore Industrial in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to use technology, engineering and new materials to modify the pressure vessel in a way that will reduce the weight and make it smaller and more flexible.

In initial prototype designs, the new pressure vessel offers an approximate 60 percent weight reduction over conventional SCBA cylinders. Prototypes also have a substantially smaller profile, measuring two inches in depth. Pressure vessels on conventional SCBA cylinders measure seven inches in depth.

The design braids new, thin, tubular pressure vessels in the harness assembly, instead of the large cylinders used today sitting on top of the harness assembly, allowing for greater mobility in confined spaces. Unlike conventional cylinders which contain air pressures up to 5000 psi, the new vessels won’t fragment if they’re ruptured. A punctured pressure vessel would simply vent contained air.

Members of Fort Wayne, IN, Local 124 have tested the prototypes in simulated confined space entry.

The IAFF’s contract with DHS spans a 15-month period. The research and development is expected to result in a new, commercially available SCBA.

“The IAFF is confident that a new generation of lighter, low-profile SCBA will be available to the fire service when this important research concludes, and our members will be safer for it,” Schaitberger said.

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Government approvals
The DHS contract to the IAFF spans a 15-month period to advance the new technology toward commercialization. This effort includes getting the necessary government approvals for the new pressure vessel, working with the SCBA industry to integrate the new pressure vessel as part of existing SCBA, fulfilling government and NFPA standards certification requirements, and carrying out field testing to prove the benefits of the new technology. The IAFF Project Team, which also includes International Personnel Protection, Inc., based in Austin, Texas, is working with a Technical Advisory Committee, which is providing input for the integration, testing and introduction of the new pressure vessel technology. At the first meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee, several factors were identified that will help with ensuring a smooth transition of the fire service to lower weight, thinner profile SCBA. For example, since only one system can be initially brought through various required approvals and certifications, the advisory group opted for a 45-minute service life rated system.

Amazing new SCBA represent a significant improvement in personal protective equipment. Photo : Screenshot from ABC 9 video

Harold Schaitberger, general president of the IAFF, has prioritized this effort to ensure his membership has the latest technology to minimize firefighter and other first responder stress during emergencies. "The IAFF has a long history of promoting new development projects that provide direct benefits to fire fighter health and safety," he said. "We feel that the time is right to fast track the introduction of new technology that will allow firefighters to respond lighter with a higher degree of safety by using less stressful, but highly protective equipment. At the end of this project, the IAFF is confident that a new generation of lighter, thinner SCBA will be available to the fire service."

Within the next two years, the new SCBA technology is likely to change the way that the fire service and other first responders look at SCBA and the missions that require air-supplying systems. Not only will the firefighter ensemble look different, with sleeker, lighter SCBA, the improvements for stress reduction and confined space mobility will be dramatically improved. Most importantly, the new technology will represent a paradigm change in the industry the same way that positive-pressure SCBA afforded firefighters substantially higher levels of safety and health compared to previous respirator use.

A Technical Advisory Committee of IAFF members will provide input for the integration, testing and introduction of the new pressure vessel technology. At the first meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee, several factors were identified that will help ensure a smooth transition of a new SCBA to the fire service. The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 292,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 85 percent of the nation’s population. More information is available at www.iaff.org.

VIDEO: ABC 9 video

Government Resources for Firefighter PPE – Part 2

NIOSH is probably best known among firefighters for its certification of all respirators used in the United States. Respirators are the only type of PPE that is certified by the federal government. However, NIOSH has a much larger role than just respirator certification in the area of PPE.

The organization is increasingly involved in several other programs supporting research and testing that is leading to better PPE for fire service applications. It even has a specific facility that focuses on PPE issues — the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) — which was established in 2001 at the Bruceton Research Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This article highlights NIOSH's role relative to PPE as a government resource to the fire service and describes some of the other federal programs that are directed towards improvement of firefighter health and safety.

As an extension of NIOSH's respirator certification program, the NPPTL, with support from what is now the Department of Homeland Security, developed specific criteria for SCBA that offer protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism agents.

NIOSH capitalized on the existing framework of requirements in NFPA 1981, the current standard for open-circuit self-contained breathing apparatus used by the emergency services, and established additional criteria against chemical warfare agents based on a comprehensive hazard and risk analysis. The CBRN approval criteria became an extra certification for fire service SCBA in 2002, but are now a mandatory part of the new NFPA 1981 standard that was released earlier this year.

NIOSH NPPTL then went on to develop additional criteria to cover CBRN approvals for other respirators such as air-purifying, escape, and powered air-purifying respirators. As with conventional respirators, NIOSH maintains the responsibility for the certification of these specialized respirators while NPPTL continues to broaden its creation of new criteria for respirator development, with many of these programs benefiting fire and emergency services.

Impartial support
NPPTL personnel directly participate on NFPA protective clothing and equipment standards development committees related to fire service PPE. This role helps to provide impartial support for standards development that is otherwise unavailable to the voluntary member-based committees.

In particular, NPPTL personnel have undertaken efforts to meet standards development needs as they are identified by the fire service and other organizations. For example, a recent NIOSH-sponsored project entailed an investigation of emergency medical first responder needs, and created and revised criteria for emergency medical PPE as part of the revision of NFPA 1999.

These revised criteria are helping the protective clothing industry and end users to overcome industry performance and acceptance issues, which were inhibiting the use of certified products. NIOSH NPPTL has also sponsored a program for research into test methods that better predict the incidence of firefighter burns in protective garments where no clothing damage takes place.

This research program for the development of a "stored thermal heat energy" test method will lead to new performance criteria that will help protective clothing manufacturers apply new materials and designs to minimize burns that occur under ordinary fireground conditions and ultimately result in the overall reduction of firefighter burn injuries.

In another example, NIOSH has been working to collect surveillance data on smoke and toxic chemical exposures during wildland firefighting. This information is expected to form the foundation of performance criteria for the long awaited and overdue standard on respiratory protective devices for wildland firefighters.

In some instances, NIOSH has had to undertake short-term research programs for responding to industry issues where concerns exist about equipment in the field. Recently, it was discovered the firefighter PASS devices had alarm components that diminished when exposed to certain high heat and moisture conditions. A program led by NIOSH with support from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Building Fire Research Laboratory worked to identify the nature of the problem, investigate test methodology for replicating the field malperformance of PASS, and recommend criteria that would overcome device deficiencies.

These criteria became part of NFPA 1982 standard adopted earlier this year. In response to a different industry concern, NIOSH and NIST joined forces to examine heat resistance testing variability associated with different laboratories for evaluating glove liners. While this investigation is still in progress, initial findings show some discrepancies exist among laboratories performing certification testing and may impact the status of some certified products in the field. Both of these programs illustrate how government resources can provide relatively rapid assistance for impartially dealing with PPE issues as they arise in the absence of overall industry oversight organizations.

Fatality prevention program
In 1998, NIOSH instituted the Fire Fighter Fatality and Prevention Program (FFFIPP). The FFFIPP investigates firefighter line-of-duty deaths — and selected non-fatal injuries — with the goal of formulating recommendations for the prevention of future casualties. The investigators use the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) model.

Medical records, death certificates, and autopsy reports as well as interviews and evaluations of PPE, particularly SCBA, are integral to the process of investigating fatalities. Each report includes a summary of the incident and specific recommendations for preventing similar events. Reports omit department and individual identifiers, as the focus is not on determining fault or blame, but rather on understanding the causes of firefighter fatalities and then developing and disseminating recommendations for prevention of fatalities.

As a result of this program, deficiencies related to the use of PPE are sometimes identified and can lead to improvements in both PPE design and deployment.

Meanwhile, government resources are being applied to increase the protective qualities and usability of PPE for fire and emergency services. Government studies are frequently undertaken to encourage evaluation for the limitations of current PPE and the potential for improvements in first responder health and safety.

While many developments have taken place over the years, one of the earliest successful programs was Project FIRES (Firefighters Integrated Response Equipment System) as sponsored by the U. S. Fire Administration, with technology transfer support by NASA and led by the IAFF. Project FIRES established the template design and performance for today's modern bunker clothing.

Currently, with the USFA as part of the Department of Homeland Security, new generation firefighter protective ensembles are being developed in two separate efforts by the IAFF and Total Fire Group through Project HEROES, and by North Carolina State University and Globe Fire Fighters Suits in their CB Ready program to deal with emerging threats for chemical and biological terrorism.

These programs are managed by the Technical Support Working Group, a government organization that fast tracks R&D programs for rapid commercialization related to domestic preparedness applications. The resulting new protective ensembles are establishing new ways to increase firefighter protection and are encouraging design innovations in clothing technology. A recent adjunct to the IAFF's Project HEROES is a new pressure vessel development program that will revolutionize the PPE industry with lower weight, smaller profile SCBA.

The judicious focus of resources through organizations seeking to address issues, heighten awareness and provide solutions is one way that the federal government is helping to promote greater levels of firefighter and other first responder health and safety issues.

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