BA procedures 466 Flashcards
Purpose of BA procedures
The purpose of BA and associated control procedures is to reduce the risk of respiratory injury to firefighters and provide safe working practices when BA is used
What should you not use BA maintenance rooms for?
Under no circumstance should RPE maintenance rooms be used to store anything other than RPE, nor should they be used for the cleaning of other items.
Who is responsible for ensuring BA is worn?
The IC
When can you have a BA crew of one?
- Car fires
- Rubbish fires
- Working at head of aerial appliance
BA crew of one - what is mandatory
- Stage 1 EC
- In line of sight from ECO
- In open air
With regards to BA, what must a WM ensure at the start of every shift?
- Nominate BA wearers and ECOs
- Allocate BA comms
- Ensure BA equipment tested and defects reported
- Ensure spare BA sets tested with ‘spare’ on tally
- ECO, BA, comms & GTCPS wearers recorded in log book
Considerations for FF’s on phase 2 development
Are trained in and can do BA & ECO. However, watch managers must take into account the skills and experience required to wear BA or carry out the roles of ECO or team leader and consider the level of supervision that may be required.
ECO to ensure following equipment available
- ECB
- ECO tabard
- Chinagraph
- Evacuation whistle
- Main & branch guide line tallies (where applicable)
- Aide-memoirs 1-11
- Guide line(s)
- IEC pack
- Hand held radio
- ECB tripod & bracket
Most important elements of wearing BA
- Adhere to and comply with BA procedures
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Pressure/TTW checks regularly
- Check telemetry signal regularly
- Understand BA supplements FFing skills & practises
- Effective briefing/debriefing of BA teams
- Awareness of physiological effects of working
Comms. All personnel must ensure the following take place:
- Briefing for BA teams before committing
- Debriefing after withdrawal
- Exchange of info on handover of tasks to other BA teams
- Regular updates from BA team leader on conditions, progress and team status
Request EDBA message
From…@…; EDBA required; TM…
Will mobilise FRU x3 and PA (for EDBA support) x3
Who is responsible for briefing/debriefing BA crews?
IC or nominated officer. Not ECO
What must officer briefing BA crews do?
- Brief whole team before starting up
- Confirm comms available & call signs
- Define what they have to do
- Define any restrictions
- Define location of work
- Show plans if available
- Brief where any persons and/or fire suspected to be
- Brief on whereabouts of other BA teams and their tasks
- Inform team of any known hazards
- Inform team on nature & frequency of progress reports required
BA crew debriefing considerations
- Debrief as soon as crew closed down
- Obtain updates on all elements of original briefing
- Gather info about fire condition by judging heat damage/steaming of PPE, signs of exhaustion, air consumption significantly above what was expected
Duties of BA wearers
- Do not don BA en route to incident
- Undertake an A test where appropriate
- Don and start in safe air
- Ensure minimum of 240 bar when reporting to ECO
- Establish & confirm call sign with ECO
- Hand BA tally to ECO
When can you use handheld radio in BA team?
- When BARIE set not available. 1 radio per team
- Not used in flammable/explosive atmospheres
- Only used in compartments where naked flame already present
- May be used in compartments where DIM sweep has taken place for explosive/flammable atmosphere
Definition of BA working duration
Working duration is the time between taking the first breath, and the operation of the low pressure warning/whistle.
Because consumption of air in BA varies over a wide range, all wearers must:
(a) Carry out regular checks of their Bodyguard to monitor their consumption.
(b) Monitor the pressure remaining in the BA set.
(c) Return to the entry control point before their low pressure warning/whistle begins to sound.
(d) Liaise with ECO to ensure turnaround times take into account both live telemetry and manually calculated TOW being used by the ECO for return to ECP.
In assessing working duration, team leaders and wearers should take into account all aspects of the incident. These include:
(a) The air consumed to reach the scene of operations.
(b) Work undertaken at the scene of operations.
(c) Conditions within the incident – (heat and humidity reduces working duration and causes physical exhaustion).
(d) The possibility that conditions on the exit route may have deteriorated.
(e) Information received from the communications operator/ECO and other BA teams.
(f) Remember that consumption rates on the way out will be higher due to the natural effects of physical exertion.
BA team leaders should:
- Ensure BA teams never split
- Ensure whole team fully briefed and debriefed
- Co-ordinate gauge & telemetry checks and return to ECP before LPWW
- Be aware of conditions and monitor team members
- Withdraw team if comms & telemetry lost
- Undertake crew rotation
- Re-assess objectives in light of changing conditions
- Ensure whole team uses bodyguard withdrawal button when withdrawing & confirm to ECO with comms
- Inform ECO of accidental activation of withdrawal button (task can continue with annotation on ECB)
The BA team leader must withdraw the BA team and inform the ECO/communications operator if any of the following occur:
(a) Any BA team member has an uncontrolled loss of air.
(b) A low pressure warning/whistle sounds.
(c) Any BA team member seems unwell or confused.
(d) Any BA team member’s Bodyguard display becomes faulty or unreadable.
(e) A BA team member’s ADSU/DSU sounds (ECO should also be alerted to this by the ECB).
(f) Any BA team member indicates they may have been exposed to an irrespirable atmosphere due to a dislodged or defectivefacemask.
(g) A complete loss of both radio and telemetry signals simultaneously.
Any BA team member being informed that another BA team member is entangled in cables must:
- Say to entangled wearer “Stay still and cross your arms at chest height”
- Approach wearer with caution and safe movement
- Locate cables with head to toe sweep, back of hand
- Rescuer use own cable cutters
- Repeat
- Restow cutters
When BA wearer becomes entangled in cables and cannot contact rest of crew
- Inform ECO of entanglement & location
- Remain as still as possible
- Activate DSU
- Locate cables by sweeping down either side of body
- Use cutters to cut as far away from body as possible
ECO being informed of cable entanglement must:
- Commit emergency crew
- Inform IC
IC being informed of cable entanglement must:
- Consider FF emergency
- Consider isolation of electrical supplies
- Commence accident investigation
When must DSU be activated immediately?
- Any team member becomes lost, confused, injured or in difficulty
- Any team member has problems with their BA set
- Any team member becomes distressed or disorientated
Considerations for BA team rendering assistance to ADSU/DSU activation of another team
- Sufficient air remaining to render assistance
- Need to maintain safe egress
- Whether BA team is in process of carrying out another rescue
- BA team hearing an ADSU/DSU should advise the ECO/communications operator and should keep them informed of their actions
When making the decision to withdraw after actuation of an ADSU/DSU, BA team leaders should consider:
(a) How close they are to the exit.
(b) How close they are to the fire or other hazard.
(c) Whether staying where they are puts them in further/greater difficulties/increased risk.
(d) How other BA teams who may be able to assist.
If any member of a BA team has an accidental actuation of their BA set Bodyguard ADSU/DSU the BA team must take the following actions:
(a) Make radio contact with the ECP to confirm accidental actuation, so that the ECO does not unnecessarily commit a BA emergency team.
(b) Withdraw and report to ECP.
The ECO must take the following actions:
(c) Inform other BA teams committed of accidental actuation.
(d) Instruct the BA team to stay under air.
(e) Cancel the ADSU/DSU with the affected wearer’s Bodyguard key taken from the ECB.
(f) Manually log off that BA wearer and then reinsert the BA tally into the same BA tally position on the ECB and release the BA team back into the risk area if appropriate
LPWW operates when?
- 12 mins consumption SDBA @ 50l/min
- 18 mins consumption EDBA @56l/min
Strenuous activity/stress will reduce time
When a BA team become aware that they cannot withdraw from the scene of operations they should take the following actions:
(a) Inform the ECO/communications operator.
(b) Operate one DSU (ECO should also be alerted to this by the ECB).
(c) Relax as much as possible in the circumstances by assuming a reclining or seated position.
(d) Maintain physical contact with other BA team members.
(e) Keep speech and movement to a minimum.
(f) Do not use the additional flow button.
(g) Do not adjust the cylinder valve.
(h) Keep all personal torches switched on.
Considerations when telemetry with BA team lost
- BA team backtrack to regain signal
- BA team/ECO to maintain regular comms
- If signal loss prolonged IC may consider use of repeaters
- If both telemetry & comms lost BA team must withdraw
Second set actions before committing
- 1x second set for every 2 wearers of emergency team
- Second set bag where available
- Minimum pressure of 240 bar
- Cylinder closed & set purged
- First breath button depressed
- BA tally marked ‘second set’ and placed in ECB with emergency team
- Key left in bodyguard
- Facemask connected and in facemask bag
Methods of using second set
- Exchange of air with 2nd set
- 1m hose between sets
- Facemask change
How do you carry out an exchange of air with GTCPS?
- 1m hose
- Back to back adaptor
- Fit to external coupling at wearer’s left hip
- If not immediately possible use any method to get into suit and connect to BA set 2nd person connection
GTCPS - when reporting for decon when should second set be used?
- 100 bar or below
- When GTS down to waist, gauge reading to be taken. If below 90 bar another 2nd set to be connected
- ECO will monitor cylinder pressure on ECB whilst decon taking place
Withdrawing after initial entry and returning to risk area…
- As long as face mask not removed, no fresh records need to be made
Re-entry in BA
- After withdrawing and closing down
- Re-enter to perform a specific task
- All BA team members fit
- Minimum 190 bar (anything over recorded as 190 bar)
- 15 minutes
- Annotate as ‘re-entry’
New entry in BA
- In exceptional circumstances
- All BA team members fit
- Fresh records required
- Heavily contaminated sets = B test
- BA members must inform ECO if they have already worn BA
Considerations when siting ECP
Entry control points must be sited in a safe position as near to the scene of operations as possible. They must be sited in safe air, taking into account weather conditions, wind direction, physical limits of the incident and access to the scene of operations. They should be sited in such a position that it should not be necessary to reposition them if the incident deteriorates and where optimum signal propagation is likely to be achieved (i.e. with the rear of the ECB facing towards the entry point)
Entry control stage 1
- 1x ECB
- 10 wearers
- One entrance into risk area (unless two entrances close and within line of sight)
- IC should nominate emergency crew asap
- Comms officer when possible
Entry control stage 2
- More than one LFB ECB
- More than one entrance to risk area
- Protracted incident
- Emergency team committed
- Guidelines
- High-ex foam
- EDBA
- Protracted incident
- More than 10 wearers
- Other agencies committed in BA
- GTCPS not in line of sight
- Telemetry leaky feeder deployed
- Emergency & relief teams must be established at stage 2
A BA emergency team must be:
(a) Led by a minimum of crew manager.
(b) At least as large as the largest BA team or teams working together on the same task.
(c) Rigged to at least the same level of protection as BA teams already committed.
(d) Equippedwithone‘secondset’foreverytwoBAwearersintheBAemergencyteam.(Write ‘second set’ on the BA tally of the ‘second set’ and insert it into the ECB, bracketed together with the BA emergency team).
(e) A BA emergency team leader must have BA radio communications to enable the emergency team to monitor and communicate with committed BA teams.The BA emergency teams will adopt the call signs Emergency Team 1, Emergency Team 2 etc
Definition of distress to wearer
Any malfunction of BA, which is likely to deprive the wearer of air or expose them to a contaminated atmosphere (this includes cosmetic smoke)
Aerial appliances and BA
- When BA used base operator must have clear line of sight
- Aerial cages not to be used as ECP
- When used for access by BA teams aerial only controlled at base by base operator
- When used for access by BA teams aerial must not be repositioned under any circumstances until teams brought back to ground
Guidelines
- 2x main guidelines and 4x branch guidelines from one ECP
- Main guidelines, extend as far as necessary
- Branch guidelines, cannot extend (used for searching over 6m from main guideline)
- ECO secures guideline near ECP and attaches tally
- ECO attaches branch guideline tally to bag
ECB aide-memoirs
- 1, Stage 1 entry control
- 2, Stage 2 entry control
- 3, BA main control
- 4, BA comms officer
- 5, DTW
- 6, Cylinder procedure
- 7, BTP
- 8, Respirator facemask???
- 9, Respirator facemask???
- 10, ECB manual log on/off
- 11, Not in use
- 12, Telemetry
- 13, Emergency FF decon
