Hoffman Estates Fire Department Safety Operations - PDF

HOFFMAN ESTATES FIRE DEPARTMENT STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINES SOG Category & Identification Number: EFFECTIVE DATE: SAFETY OPERATIONS – 009 January 1, 2022 NIMS COMPLIANT SOG Title: MSA Emergency Equipm...

HOFFMAN ESTATES FIRE DEPARTMENT STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINES SOG Category & Identification Number: EFFECTIVE DATE: SAFETY OPERATIONS – 009 January 1, 2022 NIMS COMPLIANT SOG Title: MSA Emergency Equipment & RIT Pack Revision: 3 APPROVED BY: NUMBER OF PAGES: Re-evaluation Date: Alan Wax January 1, 2025 Fire Chief 3 PURPOSE The Fire Department mandates the use of a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) whenever the threat of a contaminated or oxygen deficient atmosphere exists. The purpose of this policy is to define how to utilize the emergency equipment on the MSA G1 SCBA units and the MSA RIT Packs to assist a firefighter low on air or out of air. POLICY In the event a firefighter wearing a MSA G1 SCBA is low on air, or runs completely out of air, the following emergency procedures can be used.  Using the medium pressure buddy breathing hoses located on the SCBA, the rescuer connects his/her hose to the hose of the firefighter needing air. The rescuer should take control of making the connection, attaching either the male or female end of the rescuer’s buddy breathing hose to the opposite connection on the firefighter needing air buddy breathing hose.    It is important to remember that the buddy breathing hose has both a female and male connection. When making the connection, the rescue firefighter can use either the female or male connector to give air to the firefighter needing air. Since these connectors are two way valves, it is EXTREMELY important to remember that in a rescue, either connector supplies air to the opposite connector. The department’s engines and towers are equipped with a MSA RIT Pack used for firefighter rescues. The MSA RIT Pack has several options available for use by a RIT Team while making a rescue of a firefighter in distress. The following outlines the use of a RIT Pack in an emergency operation. 1. Use of the MSA RIT Pack in conjunction with the MSA SCBA 1   Upon finding the firefighter, the rescue team’s first option should be to connect the 12’ High Pressure hose from the RIT Pack to the URC (Universal Rescue Connector) on the SCBA of the firefighter needing assistance. Once this connection is made air will trans-fill (equalize) from the RIT Pack to the SCBA cylinder and allow the fire-fighter needing assistance to continue breathing from his/her own SCBA. The URC (Universal Rescue Connector) is a rescue-only connection located within 4 inches of the cylinder valve. The connector is also a valve that allows air to travel to and from the cylinder.  If unable to make the connection with the 12’ High Pressure hose, the rescue team’s next course of action should be to: o Connect the RIT Pack’s Mask Mounted Regulator to the face mask of the firefighter in need. (First choice) o Remove the face mask of the firefighter needing assistance and place the face mask of the RIT Pack on the firefighter. This is the last option that should be used. Once either of these are used, the firefighter needing assistance will be breathing off both the RIT Pack cylinder and the firefighter’s SCBA Cylinder. Refer to Section 3 below on ways to conserve air during the rescue. 2. Use of The MSA RIT Pack in conjunction with a different manufacturer of SCBA  Upon finding the firefighter needing assistance, the rescue team would need to determine if the SCBA has a URC (Universal Rescue Connector). If the firefighter needing assistance has an SCBA with a URC (Universal Rescue Connector), the rescue team should make a connection to the URC (Universal Rescue Connection) using the RIT Pack’s 12’ High Pressure hose. Once this connection is made, air will trans-fill (equalize) from the RIT Pack to the SCBA cylinder and allow the firefighter needing assistance to continue breathing from his/her own SCBA. If equipped, the URC (universal Rescue Connection) will be located within 4 inches of the SCBA’s cylinder valve.  If unable to make this connection or if the SCBA unit does not have a URC (Universal Rescue Connection), the rescue team should remove the mask of the firefighter needing assistance and replace it using the RIT Pack’s mask. The firefighter needing assistance will then be breathing directly from the RIT Pack. 3. Additional Information and Considerations  When a RIT Pack is used for an emergency situation, every effort needs to be made to conserve the air of the firefighter needing assistance until he/ she is able to be removed from the structure. The rescue team can accomplish this in the following ways: 2  o Make a connection to the URC (Universal Rescue Connection) of the firefighter needing assistance using the 12’ high pressure hose off the RIT Pack. o After the air has trans-filled (equalized) from the RIT Pack to the SCBA cylinder of the firefighter needing assistance, his/her cylinder can then be turned off. The firefighter will then be breathing directly from the RIT Pack cylinder and will have a reserve supply of air in his/her own cylinder. o If the RIT Pack needs to be disconnected, or the firefighter is freed, his/her SCBA cylinder MUST be turned back on to allow the firefighter to breathe from his/her own SCBA once again. Consideration should be made to disconnect the RIT Pack in order to move a firefighter through entanglement hazards.  In the event the RIT Pack cylinder has less air than the cylinder of the firefighter needing assistance, the bottles will trans-fill (equalize), draining the SCBA cylinder of the firefighter needing assistance. The MSA URC (Universal Rescue Connection) is a two-way valve.  The URC (Universal Rescue Connection) is a requirement on all SCBAs manufactured after 2002, and, like its name says, it is “UNIVERSAL”. This means that all manufacturers are required to use the same connection and are required to locate it within 4 inches of the cylinder valve. With the exception of MSA, which has a two-way URC and allows air to flow in both directions, the URC is universal for all manufacturers, only allows air to flow one way into the cylinder, and is used for emergency use only.  It is also important to remember that the URC cannot be used for normal refilling operations of the SCBA cylinders. This connection is for RESCUE purpose ONLY. PROCEDURE EXCEPTIONS REFERENCES DEFINITIONS End of Document 3