SCBA Bottle Conversion - Good Bye 2.2 - Hello 4.5!

By 2nd Lt. George L. Males, ET241

By now all of you should be aware that our department is fully equipped with 4.5 SCOTT SCBA’s. On August 28 and 29 all remaining 2.2 SCOTT AirPAKs were converted over to 4.5’s. And those new Carbon Fiber bottles, what a difference in the weight!! Before I discuss the new packs, I want to publicly express my deep appreciation to several individuals who provided valuable support to the two day project. Lt. Christopher Hammick, Captain Dave Galley and Chief Engineer John Mylek. Also a special thanks goes to Engineer and Radio Specialist Jack Fisher. All individuals lent a hand in assisting our vendor, Fire Tech and Safety, in getting the job done. All pulled together as a team. I’m proud of each of their efforts and true volunteer effort by all.

The Conversion - What Did They Do?

There were twenty-four packs in all that were converted. What was done? The existing 2.2 pack had the guts removed from the high pressure reducer, the remote air gauge was changed and the high pressure line and coupling was replaced. You will note, the high pressure line is narrower and more flexible than the other 4.5 models. And of course the old 2216 PSI aluminum bottles (24 lbs) and the hooped wrapped aluminum bottles (21 lbs) were replaced with the new 4500 PSI carbon fiber bottles at 7 lbs.

Spare 4.5 Bottles

We are working to increase our spare bottles as quickly as we can. It is important that each apparatus provide it’s own spare bottles. Provisions should be made to store these spares on your apparatus, as we are in need of as many as we can to be available at a scene.

SCBA Weekly Inspections & After Use Reports

I have collected the reports for the first six months and find we are improving on our inspections! The reports are neater and are being done on a more regular basis. My thanks to each of you who are responsible for doing these reports. These reports may seem to be a needless chore to some, but the majority recognize the value of regular inspections on a vital piece of our protective gear. Keep up the good work.

Last Breath

Please protect your SCBA after you take off the pack while either at a scene of a fire or a drill. Avoid placing the pack on grass, dirt, snow or other elements that could enter into the breathing system. You should either place the pack on the apparatus, lay the unit down on a tarp set-up in rehab or keep it on while waiting to continue your firefighting/rescue activities. Other major fire departments have been finding problems such as rust appearing on various parts of the SCBA pack. So protect this important piece of gear. It’s vital to your health and safety. Be Safe!