Slide 6: It is very important to mention that a firefighter has the obligation of always being in the best physical and mental conditions. If this doesn’t happen, his life and that of third parties may be at risk.
For a firefighter, the most important personal variables regarding physical condition are:
- Pulse
- Breathing
- Blood pressure
- Muscular strenght
- Balance, etc
Slide 11: The goggles more commonly used by firefighters provide a good protection to the orbital region, making contact with the face on this part.
In urban and industrial fires, face shields are used, because these come up and down with relative ease and do not interfere, in most cases, with the face piece of the breathing protection equipment.
Slide 12: If wearing ear protectors, it is even better if these are a radio communication headset, not only due to their capacity to reduce noise but also due to the fact that this way firefighters can communicate and use radio with a normal volume.
Slide18: For example, protective gloves with plastic or rubber clothing cannot be used in fire fighting. The material must be resistant enough for the task at hand.
Slide 20:
- They allow the firefighter to get close to a fire and to remain relatively close to them (approx.. 1 meter away) whenever the temperature is not too high. These suits reflect heat, have a low coefficient of thermal conductivity and are permeable from the inside out, to make sweating easier. These suits are made of a combination of special fabrics. The are made out of several pieces, to protect each part of the body.
- Fire entry suits allow firefighters to go through flames and remain in contact with them for up to two minutes, as long as the temperature is lower than 800ºC. They should only be worn in extreme situations. The fire suit totally isolates the firefighter from the outside environment. It is made of several layers of aluminized fibre glass and if the first two layers are burned in a fire, this represents great risk for the firefighter. Firefighters need to receive special training to wear these suits, as it firefighters are under great risk if they do not wear the suit correctly.
- Hazmat (hazardous materials) suits protect the wearer from chemical, toxic and corrosive products, which can be in a solid, liquid or gaseous state, but no suit protects from all products at the same time.
Slide 21:
Characteristics of an SCBA:
- It’s easy to use
- Releases fresh air with a minimal resistance to inhalation
- Allows for the possibility of verifying at any instant the quantity of backup air through a nanometre
- It’s easy to reload its air tanks
- It’s easy to keep, doesn’t require any special tools of knowledge