Firefighter gear: PPE
Firefighting PPE, personal protective equipment for firefighters is the first protection during operations in hostile environments.
The firefighter SCBA
The firefighting SCBA is the prime firefighter equipment. The self-contained breathing apparatus used by professional firefighters is designed to provide maximum autonomy during fire interventions or in polluted environments requiring an independent breathing air source.
As a key part of the firefighter gear, the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) consists of a harness, a respiratory protection full face mask and a compressed air cylinder. The firefighter SCBA intended for use in difficult conditions is made of materials resistant to the most extreme environments.
At the same time, this equipment for professional firefighters offers different characteristics allowing the wearer to evolve safely during an intervention: resistance to heat and fire, low resistance on-demand valve during inhalation, lightweight equipment, comfortable and ergonomic harness, high quality medium and high pressure hoses.
The firefighter helmet
An essential element of firefighter equipment, the intervention helmet is designed to meet the highest safety requirements. The firefighter helmet is a gear designed to offer maximum comfort and safety during operations. It is designed in ultra-resistant materials and is modular to adapt to all terrains and all situations thanks to many accessories (visor, shield, light, F1 bindings, etc.).
Firefighter gear: monitoring devices
The firefighter's equipment can be supplemented by various monitoring devices to ensure maximum safety during interventions.
The firefighter gas detector
The firefighter gas detector is a portable explosive or combustible gas detector. This device measures the presence of gas in % LEL (lower explosive limit) and alerts when the thresholds exceed the safety limits (vibrating, audible and visual alarm).
Dangerous concentrations of flammable, combustible or explosive gas (such as butane, propane, alcohol, solvents and natural gas) are often encountered during firefighting operations. The use of a portable combustible gas monitor (or explosimeter) helps to maintain danger monitoring and reduces involved risks.
The combustible gas detector which is an integral part of the firefighting gear, can also be equipped with additional gas detection sensors. Thus becoming a portable multi gas detector the device will be able to warn in presence of an anoxia risk (oxygen meter) or in case of a toxic risk (presence of carbon monoxide CO, or hydrogen sulfide H2S for example).
The thermal camera
The thermal camera is firefighter equipment intended for interventions in difficult conditions with reduced visibility. The device operates on a simple principle: the camera captures infrared radiation (thermal radiation) from all the elements in its field of vision and restores the radiation density on its screen. Thus the device through its screen displays the thermal image: the temperature wave on an intervention scene.
A thermal camera will provide a precise view of an environment during an intervention and will identify potentially dangerous elements (detection of hot or cold spots) as well as the presence of individuals. Designed for maximum performance in harsh environments, thermal cameras for firefighters are resistant to very high temperatures, resistant to shocks and are easy to use.
Reagent tubes
Firefighter gear can also be complemented with colorimetric reagent tubes, and more precisely with simultaneous test kits. Simultaneous tests for firefighters consist of various colorimetric reagent tubes for semi-quantitative measurement of fire and decomposition gases. These tests are commonly used by firefighters before or after an intervention in order to remove doubts or to measure organic, inorganic vapors and chemical substances (carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitrous vapors, etc.).