What are most of your departments doing as far ask masking up before you get off the truck. Or are you waiting until you get to the front door. We leave it up to personnal preference right now, depending on the situation. Feed me some pro's and con's.
My Dept policy is pack up enroute to a fire that way we are ready too go when we get off the truck though we do not go on air untill we are near the fire or buliding
I tend to send recruits into the area first to assess it- if they come back, then the atmosphere is OK..... ;-)
Seriosuly though, I don't beleive it's necessary until you are getting ready to entr the hot zone. There's a myriad of jobs that may nee to be performed before entry is made- why use precious air i it's notneeded?
"...pack up enroute"...
I'm really hoping that doesn't mean what I think it means. Is your department telling/allowing you to pack up while the rig is in motion?
Scott's the way to go! Like two others said, with their nosecup and big opening, it is easy to breathe / communicate, with the mask on and get limited or no fogging at all. I've tried at least 5 models of SCBA's and they definitely are my favourite.
That is not the point though.... Personnaly, I prefer to get masked the sooner the better If I'm assigned to get in I go on air at the last minute. RIT... same thing: Masked up and ready to go on air. Working outside not masked...
The problem with SCBA seats is that they distract focus from our primary duty - getting safely to the fire. Apparatus accidents are the #2 killer of firefighters, and the most common cause of accident fatalities is a firefighter being ejected due to not wearing a seatbelt.
It is likely that the next edition of NFPA 1901 will require that SCBAs and tools be carried somewhere other than in the cab to improve collision-worthiness. I support that effort wholeheartedly, as I do the "no helmets while riding" policy in the current NFPA 1901 standard.
Ive worked both in full time and volunteer Firefighting, so I have done both. Having the chance to get it on when in the truck saves some time, but on the other hand in the volunteer aspect we are held to a time to get our gear including turnout and such once showing up in a POV at a working fire. I think when you are able to have your SCBA on before getting to a call is less stressful due to being able to get of the truck and get to work. When going to a fire in you POV and then having to get everything on you have the added pressure of time ,ie Chiefs want you to get going, people who own the property want you to harry the hell up and also in the volunteer part of it you have the three man (or woman) entree so if there are one or two ready and your not that can't pressure you. So that's my take on it.
My Dept Likes to mask up in the engine before arriving on scene, so we are ready to go. On the other hand there is a potential for the mask to fog up and then you cannot see what is going on when you get out of the rig. I would say leave it up to the individuals. Personally i like to mask up at the door that way i can evaluate what is going on when i get out of the rig and i can see and check out my partner for skin and make sure we are both covered up when entering. It is kind of hard to check each other out when enroute to the location of the call.