Purpose of BA procedures
The purpose of BA and associated control procedures is to reduce the risk of respiratory injury to firefighters and provide safe working practices when BA is used
What should you not use BA maintenance rooms for?
Under no circumstance should RPE maintenance rooms be used to store anything other than RPE, nor should they be used for the cleaning of other items.
Who is responsible for ensuring BA is worn?
The IC
When can you have a BA crew of one?
BA crew of one - what is mandatory
With regards to BA, what must a WM ensure at the start of every shift?
Considerations for FF’s on phase 2 development
Are trained in and can do BA & ECO. However, watch managers must take into account the skills and experience required to wear BA or carry out the roles of ECO or team leader and consider the level of supervision that may be required.
ECO to ensure following equipment available
Most important elements of wearing BA
Comms. All personnel must ensure the following take place:
Request EDBA message
From…@…; EDBA required; TM…
Will mobilise FRU x3 and PA (for EDBA support) x3
Who is responsible for briefing/debriefing BA crews?
IC or nominated officer. Not ECO
What must officer briefing BA crews do?
BA crew debriefing considerations
Duties of BA wearers
When can you use handheld radio in BA team?
Definition of BA working duration
Working duration is the time between taking the first breath, and the operation of the low pressure warning/whistle.
Because consumption of air in BA varies over a wide range, all wearers must:
(a) Carry out regular checks of their Bodyguard to monitor their consumption.
(b) Monitor the pressure remaining in the BA set.
(c) Return to the entry control point before their low pressure warning/whistle begins to sound.
(d) Liaise with ECO to ensure turnaround times take into account both live telemetry and manually calculated TOW being used by the ECO for return to ECP.
In assessing working duration, team leaders and wearers should take into account all aspects of the incident. These include:
(a) The air consumed to reach the scene of operations.
(b) Work undertaken at the scene of operations.
(c) Conditions within the incident – (heat and humidity reduces working duration and causes physical exhaustion).
(d) The possibility that conditions on the exit route may have deteriorated.
(e) Information received from the communications operator/ECO and other BA teams.
(f) Remember that consumption rates on the way out will be higher due to the natural effects of physical exertion.
BA team leaders should:
The BA team leader must withdraw the BA team and inform the ECO/communications operator if any of the following occur:
(a) Any BA team member has an uncontrolled loss of air.
(b) A low pressure warning/whistle sounds.
(c) Any BA team member seems unwell or confused.
(d) Any BA team member’s Bodyguard display becomes faulty or unreadable.
(e) A BA team member’s ADSU/DSU sounds (ECO should also be alerted to this by the ECB).
(f) Any BA team member indicates they may have been exposed to an irrespirable atmosphere due to a dislodged or defectivefacemask.
(g) A complete loss of both radio and telemetry signals simultaneously.
Any BA team member being informed that another BA team member is entangled in cables must:
When BA wearer becomes entangled in cables and cannot contact rest of crew
ECO being informed of cable entanglement must:
- Inform IC