New SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus)

The City of Dublin just “upgraded” their fire brigade’s air packs. The old packs were very basic, didn’t have any bells or whistles, and were generally reliable.

Yours truly trying on the new set

 The new SCBAs, or “sets” as the Irish firefighters call them, have an integrated radio system, where the mic and speaker are built into the face piece. The low-pressure regulator clips into the side of the face piece instead of the front, which was new for me. 

See? The regulator is on the side.

The firefighters felt that the new packs were lightweight and cheaply put together. There had already been some problems with low-pressure lines disconnecting from the pack while firefighters were inside structures. I noticed that the air lines were much thinner then the lines on my pack back home, and that I could easily crimp them off with my fingers. It doesn’t seem like it’s good to be able to pinch off your air supply so easily. 

Harness assembly of new pack, shiny.

Protective bottle cover

Firefighters sheath their air bottles in protective covers, which can indicate whether the bottler is full or “M.T.” empty. 

M.T. get it? Heh he he.... took me a while actually.

One really cool thing their packs can do is, be adapted to carry two air bottles instead of one. By screwing in the adapter shown below, you can connect two air bottles into what is basically a “T joint”, and BAM! Twice as much air. 

Not the best photo, I admit.