- Author
- Marshall, S. M. | Fedele, P. d. | Lake, W. A.
- Title
- Guidelines for Incident Commander's Use of Firefighter Protective Ensemble (FFPE) with Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Rescue Operations During a Terrorist Chemical Agent Incident. Final Report. February 1998-August 1999.
- Report
- ECBC-TR-132, August 1999, 62 p.
- Distribution
- For more information contact: Download a copy from Website: http://www2.sbccom.army.mil/hld/downloads/cwirp/cwirp _final_incident_ command.pfd
- Keywords
- fire fighters | protective clothing | self contained breathing apparatus | rescue operations | terrorists | terrorism | chemical agents | hazard analysis | turnout coats | protective equipment | exposure | signs and symptoms | hazardous materials
- Identifiers
- Man In Simulant Testing (MIST); Physiological Protective Dosage Factor (PPDF); first responder exposure dangers; determining specific hazards to fire fighters; mitigation; systematic approach to rescue operations; incident command research team; agent types, states, and exposure routes; vapor dosage calculation; risk factors inside enclosed areas; Positive Pressure Ventilation (PVV)
- Abstract
- The concepts outlined in this report are neither mandated nor required procedures for first responders to the scene of a chemical terrorism incident. Rather, they are presented to provide technical and operational guidance for those communities that would choose to perform quick rescue and related operations should this event occur in their communities. We encourage you to review the data, understand the implications, and consciously decide if your fire company would perform such operations. Once you have made the decision that is best for your community, you should train accordingly. This information is also presented with the understanding that responders and victims exiting the rescue scene will immediately undergo a water (high volume-low pressure) decontamination. A companion report is currently in process to assist in the decontamination process. The results presented are for firefighters dressed in commonly-used turnout gear, including both new and used Polybenzimidizole (PBI) turnout gear and new and used Nomex turnout gear. The U.S. Army Solider and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) tested turnout gear with Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) to determine the performance of each of these Firefighter Protective Ensemble (FFPE) configurations. This report provides potential Incident Commanders (ICs) with practical displays of FFPE test results for application to first responder operations and training. The displays address both situations where the IC has knowledge of the class, type, and/or concentration of chemical agent involved, and situations where these factors are not known. These displays are intended as guidelines to assist potential ICs on decisions to enter chemical agent vapor environments to perform rescue, reconnaissance, mitigation, or detection operations. They provide approximations of the amount of time a first responder, outfitted in various configurations of turnout gear, might be exposed to these hazardous environments before experiencing symptoms of such exposure. Each jurisdiction and/or potential IC is encouraged to use these estimations to establish policy, provide guidelines for operational situations, and/or train first responders on minimum criteria for entry. Such criteria may include range of allowable activities, required or recommended level of protection for each activity, and exposure time restrictions/guidelines for removing vapor-exposed responders from the hot zone.