"spasciani"

Self-contained breathing apparatus
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"SCBA" redirects here. For other uses, see SCBA (disambiguation).

Toronto firefighter wearing an SCBA
A self contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA, sometimes referred to as a Compressed Air Breathing Apparatus (CABA) or simply Breathing Apparatus (BA) is a device worn by rescue workers, firefighters, and others to provide breathable air in a hostile environment. When not used underwater, they are sometimes called industrial breathing sets. The term "self-contained" means that the breathing set is not dependent on a remote supply (e.g., through a long hose). If designed for use under water, it is called SCUBA ( self-contained underwater breathing apparatus).
An SCBA typically has three main components: a high-pressure tank (e.g., 2200 psi to 4500 psi), a pressure regulator, and an inhalation connection (mouthpiece, mouth mask or face mask), connected together and mounted to a carrying frame.
There are two kinds of SCBA: open circuit and closed circuit.
Contents[hide]
1 Closed-circuit SCBAs
2 Open-circuit
3 Fullface masks
3.1 Positive pressure (preventing inward leaking)
4 Types of use
5 Safety specifications
6 Types
7 Also known as
8 See also
9 External links
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[edit] Closed-circuit SCBAs

Siebe Gorman Savox in a coalmining museum
The closed-circuit type filters, supplements, and recirculates exhaled gas: see rebreather for more information. It is used when a longer-duration supply of breathing gas is needed, such as in mine rescue and in long tunnels, and going through passages too narrow for a big open-circuit air cylinder. Before open-circuit SCBA's were developed, most industrial breathing sets were rebreathers, such as the Siebe Gorman Proto, Siebe Gorman Savox, or Siebe Gorman Salvus. An example of modern rebreather SCBAs would be the SEFA. Rebreathers used underwater have the advantage of not releasing tell-tale bubbles, making it more difficult to detect divers involved in covert operations (see frogman).
[edit] Open-circuit

A person wearing an MSA Brand breathing mask with a Nomex hood on. This face piece attaches with a regulator to form a full SCBA.

SCBA packs carried on a rack in a firetruck
Open-circuit industrial breathing sets are filled with filtered, compressed air, rather than pure oxygen. Typical open-circuit systems have two regulators; a first stage to reduce the pressure of air to allow it to be carried to the mask, and a second stage regulator to reduce it even further to a level just above standard atmospheric pressure. This air is then fed to the mask via either a demand valve (activating only on inhalation) or a continuous positive pressure valve (providing constant airflow to the mask).
An open-circuit rescue or firefighter SCBA has a fullface mask, regulator, air cylinder, cylinder pressure gauge, and a harness with adjustable shoulder straps and waist belt which lets it be worn on the back. The air cylinder usually comes in one of three standard sizes: 30, 45 or 60 minutes. The relative fitness, and especially the level of exertion of the wearer, often results in variations of the actual usable time that the SCBA can provide air, often reducing the working time by 25% to 50%.

SCBA apparatus with a PASS device attached.
Air cylinders are made of aluminium, steel, or of a composite construction (usually carbon-fiber wrapped.) The composite cylinders are the lightest in weight and are therefore preferred by fire departments (UK: fire brigades), but they also have the shortest lifespan and must be taken out of service after 15 years. Air cylinders must be hydrostatically tested every 3 years for composite cylinders, and every 5 years for metal cylinders. During extended operations, empty air cylinders can be quickly replaced with fresh ones and then refilled from larger tanks in a cascade storage system or from an air compressor brought to the scene.
[edit] Fullface masks
The fullface masks of breathing apparatus designed for use out of water are sometimes designed in a way that makes them unsuitable for scuba diving, although some may allow emergency very shallow submersion:
The seal at the edge of the mask is a wide tube with thin very flexible walls running all round the edge of the mask, full of air at atmospheric pressure. On the surface it squashes against the wearer's face's edges, causing a good seal despite small variations in head shape. At more than a few feet depth pressure (underwater or in a caisson) this tube collapses, destroying the seal and making the mask leak massively.
Curved window which underwater would severely distort the image by refraction.
The mask may have a big fullface window, or small eye windows.
The mask may have a small mouth-and-nose (ori-nasal) breathing mask inside, reducing breathing deadspace.
Link to image and description of a negative-pressure fullface mask
The mask may incorporate a two-way radio communicator.
See also Full face diving mask
Some old industrial rebreathers (e.g. the Siebe Gorman Proto) had a mouthpiece and attached noseclip instead.
[edit] Positive pressure (preventing inward leaking)
Open circuit SCBAs utilize either "positive pressure" or "negative pressure" operation.
A "negative pressure" SCBA may be used with a type of fullface mask which could be used as a gasmask (with a filter canister on the facepiece's air inlet) or with an open-circuit breathing set connected to the air inlet. Air is delivered to the wearer when he breathes in, or in other words, reduces the pressure in the mask to less than outside pressure, hence the name "negative pressure". The limitations of this are obvious, as any leaks in the device or the interface between the mask and the face of the wearer (caused for example by small face skin wrinkles) would reduce the protection offered.
"Positive pressure" SCBA addresses this limitation. By careful design, the device is set to maintain a small pressure inside the facepiece. Although the pressure drops when the wearer breathes in, the device always maintains a higher pressure inside the mask than outside of the mask. Thus, even if the mask leaks slightly, there is a flow of clean air out of the device, automatically preventing inward leakage under most circumstances. Although the performance of both types of SCBA may be similar under optimum conditions, this "fail safe" behaviour makes a "Positive pressure" SCBA preferable for most applications. As there is usually no air usage penalty in providing positive pressure, the older "Negative pressure" type is in most cases an obsolete configuration and is only seen with older equipment.
[edit] Types of use
There are two major application areas for SCBA, fire fighting, and industrial use.
For fire fighting, the design emphasis is on heat and flame resistance above cost. SCBA designed for fire fighting tend to be expensive because of the exotic materials used to provide the flame resistance and to a lesser extent, to reduce the weight penalty on the fire fighter. In addition, modern firefighting SCBAs incorporate a PASS device into their design. PASS stands for Personal Alert Safety System, and emits a distinctive high pitched tone to help locate firefighters in distress. The device can be manually activated, and will automatically activate if it does not sense movement for a certain length of time (typically between 15 and 30 seconds).
The other major application is for industrial users of various types. Historically, mining was an important area, and in Europe this is still reflected by limitations on use in the construction of SCBAs of metals that can cause sparks. Other important users are petrochemical, chemical, and nuclear industries. The design emphasis for industial users depends on the precise application and extends from the bottom end which is cost critical, to the most severe environments where the SCBA is one part of an integrated protective environment which includes gas tight suits for whole body protection and ease of decontamination. Industrial users will often be supplied with air via an air line, and only carry compressed air for escape or decontamination purposes.
[edit] Safety specifications
In the USA, SCBAs used in firefighting must meet guidelines established by the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA Standard 1981. If an SCBA is labeled as "1981 NFPA compliant", it is designed for firefighting. The current version of the standard was published in 2002. Similarly, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a certification program for SCBA that are intended to be used in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) environments. See NIOSH Approved SCBAs.
ADD Wiki approved Spare Cylinder image here. The photograph shows eight DOT compliant breating gas/breathing air cylinders used with open-circuit self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Notice the carbon composite pressurized vessel cylinder material that makes up the external walls of the high pressure cylinders and the black or red cylinder neck valve assemblies. These cylinders are positioned for future maintenance work concerning DOT hydrostatic requalification of the cylinder.
Any SCBA supplied for use in Europe must comply with the requirements of the Personal Protective Equipment Directive (89/686/EEC). In practice this usually means that the SCBA must comply with the requirements of the European Standard EN 137 : 2006. This includes detailed requirements for the performance of the SCBA, the marking required, and the information to be provided to the user. Two classes of SCBA are recognised, Type 1 for industrial use and Type 2 for fire fighting. Any SCBA conforming to this standard will have been verified to reliably operate and protect the user from -30°C to +60°C under a wide range of severe simulated operational conditions.
The Royal Australian Navy uses the Open Circuit Compressed Air Breathing Apparatus (OCCABA), a backpack-style, positive pressure breathing apparatus, for fire-fighting roles.

RN MK2
Self contained breathing apparatus duration from 30 to 180 minutes, depending on the model and on the cylinder mounted.
Available with:
One steel cylinder: 6 or 3 litres 300 bar
One composite cylinder 9 or 6.8 litres 300 bar
Two composite cylinders 9 or 6.8 litres 300 bar
RN can be supplied with mask and demand valve type A (standard connector EN 148-3) or with mask and demand valve type B/N (snap-in connector according to DIN 58600).
This breathing apparatus is ideal for maintenance intervention in chemical plants, fire fighting, working in very polluted environments or in oxygen deficiency.
According to EN 137.