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Masks on or off in the truck?
On a structure fire call, my captain told me to have my mask on but not on air when I get out of the truck. Of course I will follow his directions, but I was wondering if it's better to mask up before making entry. On some calls, captains got off the truck with their mask on, and their inital size up to dispatch was really difficult to understand, their mask was all foggy, and it's hard to understand their directions. That's just my opinion...brothers and sisters, what do you think?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dustin J. Millis on
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I've always pretty much waited until the last second to put it on. I dont mean that I wait until I'm eating smoke but usually right before I enter the structure. If the fire is in the back of the house and smoke isnt pouring out yet, I mite wait until I encounter some smoke. Its just easier to see what you have in front of you without it on. I definatly wana be able to see the outside of the structure when I jump outa the rig.
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Permalink Reply by Mick Shelley on
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Off
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Permalink Reply by Matt Crawford on
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I would say mask off, but you have to follow orders. I have had my mask fog up and i busted my tail coming off the engine. Lesson learned, maskup before you make entry.
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Permalink Reply by Dewayne and Diana Bean on
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How can you even question this? In my opinion(ONLY) not to cause controversy but mask up on on the truck if it fogs up turn the air up to clear it out. With the chemicals your being exposed to(?meth, formaldehyde, plastics) don't let that one breath take you or your career out. Take care and be safe! Again this is just my opinion. And I do respect and understand yours.
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Permalink Reply by Marvin Hawk on
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I think I would ask the good Captain to make sure that wearing my mask while riding in the apparatus was NFPA approved. Remember it is against the all mighty NFPA's rules to wear your helmet while seated in a moving apparatus.
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Permalink Reply by Zeke Harman on
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Mask up before you get on scene when the truck is marking on scene go on air to get the fog off your mask and that way you have a quicker entry
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Permalink Reply by PFC Harmon on
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I have always left it off right up till we are going to make entry. Some fires are to involved to go in and with out a mask you can see more. You can also make clearer radio communications and not waste air trying to defog the mask.
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Permalink Reply by Russ Griffith on
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Just about everyone seems to be in agreement,it all boils down to safety. Vision,speech,hearing, if any one of these is impeded something critical could be missed, fire or smoke behavior not seen, the sound of failing structural members, a command or warning is misunderstood. My opinion as an officer and instructor is that this practice is unsafe, however, if it is in your SOGs ( or SOPs ) non-compliance is not a viable option, if it is not in your SOGs, ( or SOPs ), and you feel this creates a safety issue, express your concerns, you may not be the only one who is not comfortable with this practice.
Stay Safe
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Permalink Reply by rescueortruck on
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mask up before entry! like u said the mask is all foggy and if the mask does not have a voice amp then it is hard to hear. not to mention that there are some things that can be done before one makes entry that does not need a mask.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Owens on
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I think its better to maks up in the truck. This will ensure that you do not breath any smoke. Smoke is toxic it is proven that it carries acrolein, benzene, and cyanide yea you know cyanide the stuff they use to kill you in the gas chamber. Todays smoke is toxic breathing any of it could cause cancer later in life don't take that chance. The Book "In the mouth of the dragon" by Deborah Wallace gives case studies on major fires in the US and the health affects of the firefighters that fought them you can get it for about 6 bucks on amazon and it will make you wear your mask every time.
Also I think it looks more proffesional to come off the rig ready to work.
Lastly I do it from a selfish stand point, I have never had the nozzle taken away from me when I come off the rig ready to go to work. But I have stolen plenty of fires away from guys masking up in the yard when I come off ready to go.
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Also having read some of the posts I can say that with a properly maintained nose cup, and anti fogging solution I have never had one fog up on me.
Also with the masks of old I agree that there was some obstructed vision problems. However with todays masks this is simply not the case. Any tunnel vision issues are more than likley attributed to over excited firefighters, who need to slow down.
One thing some of you might be forgetting is that if a department utilizes a reed hood then they have to mask up prior to exiting the apparatus, this is the way the reed hood functions. Departments such as houston and the surrounding areas utilize this hood and are advocates of masking up in the rig.
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