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Post by chief322 on Feb 26, 2006 7:06:30 GMT -5
How many departments (or companies for you Gary!) consistantly monitor CO levels during overhaul?
I reluctantly say that I was one of the CFO's that would de-mask when steam was prevalent in a bldg. fire and lord knows what the CO level was.
This same question is asked about using the monitor during flue or furnace malfunction fires. How many departments check the level prior to releasing the bldg. back to the owners during an emergency event?
Is this operation assigned to the safety sector or by individual personnel working the interior?
Tim
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GVEMS30
Full Member
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein
Posts: 75
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Post by GVEMS30 on Apr 12, 2006 17:05:27 GMT -5
Good point. When I was a rookie firefighter, I was on the roof of a structure next to a taller, fully involved building. I had a pack, but my mask was not on, why it should be I am outside and the fire is over there. The last thing I remember before waking up in a stokes basket is hearing someone yell man down. Turns out CO is heaver then air, that building belched it out and it settled right down on me. Blood gasses at the ED showed elevated CO levels. After that, the department I was in at the time pulled the PASS alarms off the air packs and issued one to every FF. They were attached to our coats, right on the mic clips. Anyone on scene, in or out, turn on the PASS, even if you do not have a pack. Outside can be a dangerous place too. A few years later I was caught in a collapse. I was doing overhaul and remember a lot of guys not packed up. Thank God, the four of us that got buried were all packed up, and all got out uninjured. If any one of us had not been, it would have been a very different story. That wasn’t CO, but a good lesson in why you should keep your SCBA on.
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24wacker1
Full Member
Can't we all just get along?
Posts: 77
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Post by 24wacker1 on Apr 12, 2006 21:27:23 GMT -5
Coincidently, my fire chief just passed around an article tonight at our meeting about this very topic. This article focused on cyanide gas. I think that just about every firefighter is guilty of this at one time or another. How many times do you see the firefighters inside the structure doing overhaul without air packs? TOO OFTEN!!!. I am not afraid to admit that I am very guilty of it myself. It's something that most of us just don't think about after the heat of the fire is over. The smoke that was breathed by firefighters 20 or 30 years ago can't compare to the toxins in the smoke today. Cyanide gas is killing firefighters. In the article that I read it was stated that the hospitals are even misdiagnosing the cyanide poisoning. The hospitals are treating the patients as if they just had a case of smoke inhalation and the patients are dying as a result. Monitoring the air quality of a structure is something that isn't done enough, but I can guarantee you that we will be doing it a lot more often. Think about it guys!! Be safe out there!!
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