Happy New Year! Welcome back to Mayday Mondays. Thank you all for your continued support throughout 2019. In 2020, Mayday Mondays will continue to highlight members who have made the supreme sacrifice, honoring their legacy by learning from their incidents. 2020 will also see a continued emphasis on the things that are really killing firefighters, fire service survival topics such as空气管理,高速公路安全, andfitness for dutyand firefighter rescue topics likegetting air to the down firefighter,below-grade以及高级救援技术以及其他拆除策略。所有帖子都将具有一个指导性的特征……基本知识，因为消防员的生存始于基础知识。让我们开始吧。
本月，我们记得密歇根州萨米特镇消防局的一名消防员。作为第一批发动机的负责人，斯科特·桑顿上尉和他的搭档正在寻找大火的位置。在此搜索中，他在SCBA中跑了出来，甚至试图“buddy breath”with his partner. Unfortunately, conditions worsened and he was not able to make it out of the building. One of the recommendations from the NIOSH report is:
Recommendation #8: Fire departments should instruct fire fighters on the hazards of exposure to products of combustion such as carbon monoxide (CO) and warn them never to remove their face pieces in areas in which such products are likely to exist.
–NIOSH F2005-05
Several times during the search for the fire, Captain Thornton removed his regulator from his face piece in order to smell the smoke to determine what might be on fire. This may have caused him to breath in products of combustion and affect his decision-making. Members are reminded to leave the regulator in place and use other methods to determine what is burning. The SCBA is a life-safety device with an “end of service life.” We must use air wisely and try to make it last as long as possible. One of the best ways to make it last is to know the limitations of the equipment.
How long will the SCBA air supply last?Back in July of 2019, we learned how much air you could get from an SCBA when doing very little. That month’s skill/drill was to sit still and breath off the bottle until empty. I am sure some of you were able to double the rated time span of your SCBA cylinder. This month, we will raise the energy level. With all of your turnout gear donned and SCBA in service, get on a treadmill, and time how long it takes for you to exhaust your supply. No treadmill? No problem. You can also do this skill/drill by playing basketball, walking around a track, or just about anything that raises your level of exertion. Make sure to time the evolution. Compare these times tothe July 2019 skill/drill.
我们可以从本月的技能/演习中学到什么？您可以控制可以使空气供应持续多长时间。通过控制呼吸，您可以从圆柱体中获得更多。面对压力的情况时，请专注于呼吸以管理空气。请尝试使用此技能/钻头并向我们报告mayday.Monday@dc.gov. Ready? Go!
Tony Carroll是哥伦比亚特区消防与EMS部门的营负责人。
