By John F. "Skip" Coleman, Technical Editor
I remember as a young lieuten- ant the captain of my station trying a small "rescue tank." It was very light and compact and consisted of a 12-inch-long cylinder. (It could have been a SCUBA "pony tank" adapted for fire department use.) I don't remember how the air inside made it into the lungs of the firefighter. I am not sure if it had a breathing tube and something that went into or around the mouth or some sort of bite block that you simply clamped down on with your teeth. I saw it once and remember talking to my crew about it, and that's about it. I never saw it again, nor do I remember any additional discussions concerning rescue breathers.
There are now approved self-rescue canisters designed to be used on several of the most common self-contained breathing apparatus. One such device was discussed in "Out-of-Air Emergency: Using Technology to Survive" by Frank Ricci and Matt Marcarelli (Fire Engineering, May 2008). The article discusses the ins and outs of these devices as well as applicable regulations.
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