Structure Fire Overhaul: Respiratory Hazards and Personal Protective Equipment

Even after the main fire is extinguished, firefighters still face many hazards in overhaul operations. However, the greatest danger is also the one that is largely ignored—poisonous gases resulting from incomplete combustion that exhausted firefighters may breathe in. In addition to examining these invisible dangers firefighters face during overhaul and the respiratory protection equipment available, this article will discuss the results of a Phoenix, Arizona, firefighter survey concerning the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during overhaul.

During active firefighting, visibility is often zero, the structure’s tenability is decreasing, and the environment is hot. The fire department thus focuses on safety and training. In the operational phase following fire extinguishment, overhaul, the emphasis on rescuing civilians and putting out the fire has passed. In practice, overhaul is a transitional phase. Although many physical hazards exist during overhaul, common sense, experience, and awareness of your surroundings usually mitigate these dangers. However, a serious respiratory hazard exists during overhaul, and firefighters often give this hazard low priority.

Firefighters know they can’t survive if they breathe in superheated air or toxic gases released by fire, but they often forget that the heated fuels from the fire are still releasing toxic gases during overhaul. Firefighters often talk about carbon monoxide (CO), and they all know the feeling of a CO headache, but what other toxins are they inhaling? Air-monitoring studies have proven that CO and other hazardous gases exist in a structure after a fire. Many of them are undetectable without monitors and are more dangerous than CO. The type and concentration of the gas depend on the fuels involved. Depending on air currents, the hazard also extends beyond the immediate structure. This area of occupational health and safety has received little attention; therefore, firefighters do not know all they should know about what they face after the fire is out.