- A Santa Monica Fire Department Air and Light unit
- A Toronto Fire Services Air and Light unit
An air and light unit, also known as a breathing support unit or mobile air unit, is a specialized firefighting apparatus used by first responders to provide supplemental lighting and self-contained breathing apparatus cylinders and cylinder filling services at the scene of an emergency. [1] During prolonged incidents surrounding an immediate danger to life or health environment, first responders working in unsafe environments wear a self-contained breathing apparatus. The depleted air cylinders within the breathing apparatus must be replaced and refilled throughout the incident. [2] The air and light unit can refill the cylinders while in the field using an onboard air compressor and cascade system. [1] It also carries a supply of spare air cylinders. Air and light units are highly customizable and can vary significantly between departments. [3] Units are also equipped with diesel generators, which supply electricity to power portable lights and overall scene illumination equipment. [4] This is usually done via a roof-mounted telescoping light bank. Units may typically supply electrical power in an emergency to a shelter, base camp, or medical facility.[ citation needed ]
In the United States, Chapter 24 of National Fire Protection Association Regulation 1901 outlines specifications for any air system mounted on firefighting apparatus. [5]
A fire engine, fire truck, or fire ambulance is a vehicle, usually a specially-designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an incident as well as carrying equipment for firefighting operations in a fire drill. Some fire engines have specialized functions, such as wildfire suppression and aircraft rescue and firefighting, and may also carry equipment for technical rescue.
A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) is a device worn to provide an autonomous supply of breathable gas in an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to life or health. They are typically used in firefighting and industry. The term self-contained means that the SCBA is not dependent on a remote supply of breathing gas. If designed for use under water, it is also known as a scuba set. When not used underwater, they are sometimes called industrial breathing sets. Some types are also referred to as a compressed air breathing apparatus (CABA) or simply breathing apparatus (BA). Unofficial names include air pack, air tank, oxygen cylinder or simply pack, which are mostly used in firefighting.
In firefighting, the policy of two-in, two-out refers to United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) policy 29 CFR 1910.134(g)(4)(i). The respiratory protection standard requires that workers engaged in fighting interior structural fires work in a buddy system; at least two workers must enter the building together, so that they can monitor each other's whereabouts as well as the work environment. There must also be at least two standby personnel outside the fire area prepared to rescue the inside firefighters should the need arise. One of these outside firefighters must actively monitor the status of the inside fighters but the second outside firefighter may perform a variety of other duties, such as pump operations, incident commander or outside hose line operation. There are no provisions in the standard to waive the requirements for either the "two-inside firefighters" or the "two-outside firefighters", although the circumstances under which this provision applies are more limited than generally understood.
A PASS device, also known as a Distress Signal Unit (DSU) or ADSU, is a personal safety device used primarily by firefighters entering a hazardous or Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) environment such as a burning building. The PASS device sounds a loud (95 decibel) audible alert to notify others in the area that the firefighter is in distress. On a fireground, the sound of an activated PASS device indicates a true emergency and results in an immediate response to rescue the firefighter(s) in distress. In the United States, the National Fire Protection Association sets standards for PASS devices in NFPA 1982.
A water tender, sometimes known as a water tanker, is a type of firefighting apparatus that specializes in the transport of water from a water source to a fire scene. Water tenders are capable of drafting water from a stream, lake or hydrant.
Firefighting jargon includes a diverse lexicon of both common and idiosyncratic terms. One problem that exists in trying to create a list such as this is that much of the terminology used by a particular department is specifically defined in their particular standing operating procedures, such that two departments may have completely different terms for the same thing. For example, depending on whom one asks, a safety team may be referred to as a standby, a RIT or RIG or RIC, or a FAST. Furthermore, a department may change a definition within its SOP, such that one year it may be RIT, and the next RIG or RIC.
A hazmat suit is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials.
Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services (MFES) provides fire protection, technical rescue services, hazardous materials response, and first responder emergency medical assistance to the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
The New Zealand Fire Service was New Zealand's main firefighting body from 1 April 1976 until 1 July 2017 – at which point it was dissolved and incorporated into the new Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
A rescue vehicle is a specialised vehicle designed to transport and provide the equipment necessary for technical rescue. Vehicles carry an array of special equipment such as the jaws of life, wooden cribbing, generators, winches, hi-lift jacks, cranes, cutting torches, circular saws and other forms of heavy equipment unavailable on standard trucks. This capability differentiates them from traditional pumper trucks or ladder trucks designed primarily to carry firefighters and their entry gear as well as on-board water tanks, hoses and equipment for fire extinguishing and light rescue. Most rescue vehicles lack on-board water tanks and pumping gear, owing to their specialized role. A rescue vehicle is typically operated by a rescue squad, but in some areas it may be integrated with emergency medical services or fire departments.
An emergency service unit (ESU), alternatively emergency service detail (ESD) or emergency service squad (ESS), is a type of unit within an emergency service, usually police, that is capable of responding to and handling a broader or more specific range of emergencies and calls for service than regular units within their organization, such as rescue, emergency management, and mass casualty incidents. They are similar to police tactical units, fire department technical rescue, and incident response teams in other emergency services and organizations, and often have similar or overlapping roles; the term is also used synonymously for these units, or as a catch-all for units that combine multiple disciplines and roles under one banner.
Escape breathing apparatus, also called escape respirators, escape sets, self-rescuer masks, emergency life saving apparatus (ELSA), emergency escape breathing devices (EEBD), and Respiratory Protective Smoke Escape Devices (RPED), are portable breathing apparatus that provide the wearer with respiratory protection for a limited period, intended for escape from or through an environment where there is no breathable ambient atmosphere. This includes escape through water and in areas containing harmful gases or fumes or other atmospheres immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH).
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) is an all-risk, all-hazards fire department, providing fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of San Diego, California, United States. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is the second-largest municipal fire department in the state of California, after Los Angeles and responds to nearly 162,000 calls per year. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department covers 343 square miles of service area including 17 miles of coastline, with responsibility extending 3 miles offshore.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to firefighting:
The breathing performance of regulators is a measure of the ability of a breathing gas regulator to meet the demands placed on it at varying ambient pressures and temperatures, and under varying breathing loads, for the range of breathing gases it may be expected to deliver. Performance is an important factor in design and selection of breathing regulators for any application, but particularly for underwater diving, as the range of ambient operating pressures and temperatures, and variety of breathing gases is broader in this application. A diving regulator is a device that reduces the high pressure in a diving cylinder or surface supply hose to the same pressure as the diver's surroundings. It is desirable that breathing from a regulator requires low effort even when supplying large amounts of breathing gas as this is commonly the limiting factor for underwater exertion, and can be critical during diving emergencies. It is also preferable that the gas is delivered smoothly without any sudden changes in resistance while inhaling or exhaling, and that the regulator does not lock up and either fail to supply gas or free-flow. Although these factors may be judged subjectively, it is convenient to have standards by which the many different types and manufactures of regulators may be objectively compared.
Firefighting is the act of extinguishing destructive fires. A firefighter fights these fires with the intent to prevent destruction of life, property and the environment. Firefighting is a highly technical profession, which requires years of training and education in order to become proficient. A fire can rapidly spread and endanger many lives; however, with modern firefighting techniques, catastrophe can usually be avoided. To help prevent fires from starting, a firefighter's duties include public education and conducting fire inspections. Because firefighters are often the first responders to victims in critical conditions, firefighters often also provide basic life support as emergency medical technicians or advanced life support as licensed paramedics. Firefighters make up one of the major emergency services, along with the emergency medical service, the police, and many others.
Fire services in the United Kingdom use a variety of fire appliances, which perform a wide range of general and specialised roles and fit into several distinct categories. Contemporary fire appliances carry a multitude of equipment and firefighting media to deal with different types of emergencies ranging from fires, rescues, vehicle extrication, floods, salvage, casualty and trauma care.
The Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1797 and established in 1859, the Baltimore City Fire Department covers an area of 81 square miles (210 km2) of land and 11 square miles (28 km2) of water, with a resident population of over 640,000 and a daytime population of over 1,000,000. The BCFD responds to approximately 235,000 emergency calls annually. There are two International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) locals; IAFF 734 for firefighters and IAFF 964 for officers.
A hazardous material (hazmat) apparatus is a vehicle used by emergency services to respond to calls involving potentially hazardous materials. These vehicles are customized to fit the needs of the agency responsible for the apparatus, which may be a rescue squad, fire department, emergency medical services, law enforcement agency, or military.
A firefighting apparatus or firefighting appliance describes any vehicle that has been customized for use during firefighting operations. These vehicles are highly customized depending on their needs and the duty they will be performing. These duties can include firefighting and emergency medical services.