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

摘要

This report covers Man In Simulant Testing (MIST) of both new and used firefighter turnout gear. This testing examined how well turnout gear with SCBA protects the firefighter against vapor adsorption at the skin. Firefighters were exposed, while wearing turnout gear with SCBA, to a chemical agent simulant (methyl salicylate) to measure the Physiological Protective Dosage Factor (PPDF). - An assessment was conducted using the measured PPDFs to determine quick rescue times for known living victims. The basic result is standard turnout gear with SCBA provides a first with sufficient protection from nerve agent vapor hazards either inside interior or downwind areas of the hot zone to allow 30 min rescue time for known live victims.