The National Fire Protection Association recently updated several standards for fire and rescue gear. Departments should be aware of these changes before they purchase new equipment:

• NFPA 1951, Protective Ensembles for Technical Rescue Operations.
• NFPA 1961, Fire Hose.
• NFPA 1971, Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting.
• NFPA 1981, Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Emergency Services.
• NFPA 1982, Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS).

All of the updates are effective in 2007. To order these and other NFPA standards, call 800-344-3555 or go to www.nfpacatalog.org.