Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) manufacturers have made great strides in recent years, improving wearability, situational awareness, ruggedness, and durability as well as adding technology to their equipment.
Jason Cannon, fire segment activation marketer for 3M Personal Safety Division, responsible for the 3M Scott Fire & Safety portfolio of products, points out that 3M Scott has worked diligently over the years to help address what he calls one of the biggest challenges on the fireground—clear communications between firefighters and incident command. “Firefighters have commonly had difficulty communicating on the fireground due to, among other things, excessive radio traffic and environmental noise,” Cannon says. “Utilizing wireless data transmission from the 3M™ Scott™ Air-Pak™ X3 Pro SCBA combined with the in-mask voice communications of the Vision C5 Facepiece with Radio Direct Interface and Bone Conduction Headphone can help offer solutions to both challenges.”
For sending and receiving data, the Air-Pak X3 Pro uses the SEMS II Pro Wireless SCBA Telemetry system, which includes an Electronic Personnel Accountability Report (ePAR) function to help maintain firefighter accountability while minimizing communications chatter. “An incident commander (IC) can monitor the status of firefighters on scene using a computer interface,” notes Cannon. “This includes air level and alarm status. The IC also can call for PAR using the computer interface to send a signal to every SCBA on scene that has SEMS II Pro enabled. A visual indicator and audible alarm will activate on each firefighter’s SCBA and can be acknowledged by simply resetting the PASS console, thus eliminating the need for excessive radio traffic.”
1 The 3M™ Scott™ Air-Pak™ X3 Pro SCBA uses the SEMS II Pro Wireless SCBA Telemetry System to send and receive data. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of 3M Scott Personal Safety Division.)
2 3M Scott’s Vision C5 Facepiece carries a Radio Direct Interface and Bone Conduction Headphone.
Cannon further explains, “Environmental noise can challenge a firefighter’s ability to hear and understand incoming radio communications, as evidenced by radio traffic recordings of firefighters asking incident command to repeat traffic.” 3M Scott introduced the Vision C5 Facepiece with Radio Direct Interface and Bone Conduction Headphone to help address this challenge, he says. “The bone conduction technology uses vibrations that are sent to the inner ear, bypassing the eardrum and helping to enhance a firefighter’s hearing and understanding of incoming radio communications,” Cannon notes. “This also leaves the firefighter’s ears open and unobstructed to hear audible cues on the fireground.”
Another challenge on the fireground involves firefighter location, which, according to Cannon, can be considered the pinnacle of fireground accountability. “Although the challenge with pinpointing firefighter location has not quite been solved, our Pak-Tracker Firefighter Locator System can assist in a firefighter-down situation by homing in on a radio beacon that is transmitted from the SCBA,” he says. “This technology is built into every 3M Scott Air-Pak X3 Pro SCBA.”
Jason Traynor, MSA Safety Inc.’s general manager of global fire service products and integration leader for MSA Bristol, says that when MSA integrated a thermal imaging camera into its G1 SCBA, it had the images display on the unit’s control screen rather than in the mask. “Our central power supply is sized appropriately for future enhancements, so we wanted to move elements from the face piece to the SCBA to reduce the weight on the firefighter’s head,” Traynor explains. “We also simplified the complexity of the various functions, especially with regard to batteries and charging them.”
3 MSA makes the G1 SCBA that can send data to MSA’s Connected Firefighter Platform and its LUNAR device through the FireGrid cloud software. (Photos 3-4 courtesy of MSA.)
4 MSA’s G1 SCBA has an integrated thermal imaging camera that displays on the unit’s control screen.
Traynor points out that the G1 SCBA also can send data to MSA’s LUNAR platform, which acts as a transmission point for the data gateway through a Bluetooth link. LUNAR is part of the MSA’s Connected Firefighter Platform that has Firefighting Assisting Search Technology (FAST), personal thermal imaging, a connection to MSA’s FireGrid cloud, and accountability functions.
Traynor adds that very shortly, MSA will have the capability to transmit GPS data from LUNAR, where a firefighter’s location will be shown on an IC’s map. Currently, MSA’s firefighter locator is point to point, but the company is adding distance measurement technology that’s specialized for indoor environments. An IMU inside the LUNAR device will help provide additional location-based services to show firefighters on a map.
Dräger makes the PSS 7000 SCBA in an adjustable one-size-fits-all ergonomic design. It is equipped with a supportive waist belt that keeps the SCBA at a lower center of gravity, allowing for less stress on the wearer as a firefighter moves, twists, and reaches on the job. Dräger also makes the PSS 5000 SCBA with a stable waist belt that allows the wearer to twist and turn with ease.
The Dräger SCBA face mask comes in nine sizes and has two in-mask communications options. The first is TeamTalk Communications, an independent fireground communications system available with the FPS-COM 7000 face mask. Designed for small teams, the product features standalone hands-free communication between wearers. The second option, tactical fireground communications, is available with the FPS-COM 5000 face mask and is meant to work with almost any radio system for robust in-mask communications.
5 Dräger’s PSS 7000 SCBA is fitted with a FPS Head-Up Display that connects wirelessly to the unit. (Photo 5 courtesy of Drager.)
Dräger’s FPS 7000 Head-Up Display connects wirelessly and automatically to a Dräger SCBA without any manual action by the wearer. Red, amber, and green LED lights give feedback on the periphery of view and flash at regular intervals to keep the wearer updated on cylinder air pressure. The display automatically adapts, making sure the LED lights are brighter or muted based on the ambient lightness or darkness.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
