Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Handbook
OG 4056 Air Management
Issued By: OPERATIONS (B. Clarke)
Approved By: Fire Chief William H. Mosher
Date of Issue: 2011/06/21
PURPOSE:
To increase safety of all members when operating in hazardous or potentially hazardous atmospheres by establishing an air management guideline.
OBJECTIVES:
To ensure the safety and security of Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency (HRFE) members.
SCOPE:
This operating guideline applies to career and volunteers members of HRFE.
DEFINITIONS:
• Air Management: Air management is the ongoing assessment of air consumption by individual firefighters and/or teams that are breathing air from a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA).
• The Rule of Air Management (R.O.A.M.): The Rule of Air Management (R.O.A.M.) is defined as each individual firefighter knowing how much air they have on entry and managing that air so they can exit any hazardous atmosphere before their SCBA low-air warning activates.
• Hazardous Atmosphere: A hazardous atmosphere is any atmosphere which is oxygen deficient or which contains a toxic and/or disease producing contaminant. These atmospheres can be immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH), or not.
• IDLH: Any atmosphere which is oxygen deficient or which contains a toxic and/or disease producing contaminant. An IDLH is an atmosphere, which may be or become immediately dangerous to life or health.
GENERAL:
SCBA’s shall be used by all personnel operating in an area where the potential for a hazardous atmosphere exists including, but not limited to:
• Interior structural firefighting operations
• Exterior structural firefighting operations where the potential for breathing smoke exists
• Overhaul operations (even in the absence of visible smoke)
• Car fires
• Dumpster and rubbish fires
• Hazardous materials incidents in the Hot and Warm zones
• CO emergencies where the CO concentration exceeds 25PPM.
• Any time the Incident Commander, Safety Officer or Officer deems necessary.
PROCEDURE:
Individual Air Management Program:
• All members shall follow the Rule of Air Management (ROAM), which states: “Know how much air you have in your SCBA cylinder and manage that air so you can leave the hazardous environment before your low-air alarm activates.”
• The low-air alarm activates when the SCBA cylinder has 25% of its capacity remaining.
• This 25% is the emergency reserve and should not be used for exiting the hazard area.
Using The Rule Of Air Management (Roam):
Check air before entry. Air checks at natural breaks:
• Before changing levels;
• Before entering a room;
• After moving down a hallway;
• After searching a room;
• Before and after completing a physically demanding task;
• Before beginning a new assignment;
• At timed benchmarks.
Report air pressure:
Team members should inform the team leader of their air status at all air checks. When giving progress reports, team leaders should use CAAN:
• Conditions = heat, smoke, structural integrity
• Actions = what actions are being performed, are they working?
• Air = percentage remaining of lowest member
• Needs = what additional resources are needed?
When the first member of any team has their 50% heads-up-display (HUD) lights activate the team leader shall report over the radio to Command, that the team has 50% air remaining. This allows the IC to initiate actions for replacing that team in the hazardous atmosphere
A team member should never work into their reserve air. If their low-air warning activates in the hazardous atmosphere, the team leader shall report over the radio to Command their location, activation of a team member’s low-air warning, and an estimate of how close they are to the exit. The team shall immediately exit the hazardous atmosphere.
When possible, team members should be rotated to equalize work load and maximize work time.
Exit the hazard area before your low-air alarm activates. The time to exit will be influenced by several factors such as:
• Rate of breathing
• Physical conditioning
• Stress level
• Location inside structure
• Visibility
• Fire conditions
• Debris, furniture, etc.
• Layout of the structure
o Officers and team leaders should take the lead in air management. Officers and team leaders must make the decision to exit the hazardous atmosphere before their teams low-air warning activates.
o Ultimately, air management is each firefighter’s responsibility. It is not acceptable for firefighters to work in hazardous atmospheres up to the time when their SCBA low-air warning activates.
o A low-air warning or PASS alarm activation at an emergency scene is an audible warning that a firefighter may be in trouble. This will initiate deployment of the On Deck crew for rapid intervention unless immediate radio report is received.
Sharing Air (Quick Fill)
Supplying air from one SCBA to another, using a manufacturer supplied emergency breathing system is permitted only under the following conditions:
• The use of an emergency breathing system is limited to life threatening emergencies and simulated training exercises only.
• Any user employing an emergency breathing system must exit the hazardous atmosphere immediately.
• SCBA users must not “donate” breathing air to another user if their own supply is below 50%.
All manufacturers’ instructions must be followed.
See: Fire hawk M7 Air Mask Operation and Instructions pg.39-41
RELATED POLICIES/ OPERATING GUIDELINES:
• P-606 Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
OPERATING GUIDELINE REVIEW:
This operating guideline shall be reviewed when/if there are changes/amendments to the procedure followed when operating in hazardous or potentially hazardous atmospheres.