Have you checked your SCBA face piece lately? That’s a question firefighters often get from their chiefs and officers. But the real question is whether the face piece has been examined for signs of potential catastrophic failures.

The standard inspection process usually involves a general observation of the face piece that focuses on the rubber seal, lens, lens clamp and head harness. But what are you supposed to be looking at? Often the inspection report will say something like this:

• Overall, the face piece is in very good condition.
• 
The lens surface has a few scratches and is slightly dirty, but remains intact.
• 
Visibility through the lens is very good to excellent.
• 
The lens clamp that holds the lens to the face seal is intact.
• 
The two screws that hold the clamp halves together appear to be fully tightened.
• The exhalation valve appears to be properly seated.
• 
The demand valve easily can be attached to, and removed from, the housing.
• 
The clamp holding the housing to the face seal is secure.

That might seem to be an excellent report, but the reality is that this is a checklist — the firefighter checks the boxes and files the report without really looking at the face piece.

I recently watched a video produced by the National Institute of Science and Technology. After watching the video I immediately sent a text the daytime crew at German Township (Ind.) Fire Department and asked them to specifically inspect their face pieces for cracks, scratches and any deformity caused by heat. I followed this up with a phone call to explain what I had just learned.

A couple of hours later I received a report back that two face pieces had spider cracks caused by over-tightening the screws around the face piece. In addition, numerous face pieces had significant scratches. But the most serious problem was that four face pieces showed significant heat-exposure damage, where the face piece had melted and then the plastic re-solidified after cooling.

As a result of this inspection, we immediately took out of service the six face pieces that showed heat damage and cracks. Eventually, we replaced all 26 face pieces.

How could this damage have been missed? Face pieces are inspected weekly. Upon reviewing the weekly reports, I found that the boxes which indicated that the face piece was in good condition all had been checked, and that no deficiencies had been noted.

Recent NIST tests have demonstrated that catastrophic failure of the face piece is a real concern. Fire chiefs, safety officers and firefighters need to be trained on what to look for.
Catastrophic failure means no warning. When temperatures reach a certain level, the plastic lens becomes pliable. Then, when the firefighter inhales, a breach occurs that exposes the firefighter to heat and possibly fire.

I am reasonably certain that the heat damage found in German Township’s four face pieces occurred during live-fire training and not actual fire situations.

When I informed my board of directors of the cost involved in replacing all of the face pieces, they asked, “Don’t we inspect them?” I responded that we do, but then explained that the firefighters were not trained to look intensely at specific things; instead they were doing general inspections. When I explained this issue to all of the firefighters, many realized how close they had come to serious injury or death.

NIST developed a test using a breathing dummy that under fire conditions showed a catastrophic mask failure in about 6.5 minutes. The temperature in the test was about 350°F. There was no direct flame impingement on the face piece. There was about a 10-second warning before catastrophic failure occurred — but it could not be stopped. When the plastic became pliable under such heat conditions, the only way to stop catastrophic failure was to get out of the hot zone immediately.

When I look back and think about the number of times we were in the burn room and repeatedly sent the same person back in with the same mask — without adequate cooling time or inspection time — I realize how close we had come to serious injury or death.

Each of us knows that firefighters are exposed to variable temperatures under extremely hostile circumstances, which puts significant stress on their PPE. Firefighters must recognize the criticality of the PPE inspection process, which includes observation of heat degradation in coats, pants, hoods, helmets and face pieces.

And fire departments should have clear policies that are enforced by officers that require any part of the PPE that experiences heat degradation be taken out of service until inspected and verified that the damage is not detrimental to firefighter health and welfare.

John Buckman is chief of the German Township (Ind.) Fire Department.