Fire chiefs want to know that their department's PASS devices will work as well inside a wet, sweltering inferno as they do in a dry, air-conditioned lab. To that end, the National Fire Protection Association has added strict requirements to NFPA 1982, Personal Alert Safety Systems, which means manufacturers have to put their PASS devices through more rigorous and realistic shock, water infiltration, vibration and heat tests.
These enhancements are meeting with positive response from chiefs and firefighters. The reason is simple: “Too many of the older PASS units are vulnerable to humidity and heat,” says Deputy Chief Michael Despain of the Fresno (Calif.) Fire Department.
The NFPA also has added a muffle test to the process, meaning that manufacturers have to make sure that PASS alarms can be heard even if they are thoroughly covered. The PASS device “needs to be loud enough to be heard if the firefighter is laying on top of it,” says Scott Wolverton, chief safety officer at the Shreveport (La.) Fire Department.
The standard's advances don't settle all the doubts. “I am concerned about the new PASS devices having so many additional electronics incorporated into them,” Wolverton says. “These are the kinds of features that fail in extreme conditions such as heat and humidity — the very conditions that we work in and that PASS devices have problems tolerating.”
That's not all. “With the introduction of integrated PASS devices, we hear PASS alarms on fire scenes at every fire,” Wolverton says. “They typically are coming from crews who are in full PPE ensemble and have their system charged, which activates the PASS device. This produces many false alarms from inactivity while they are waiting on an assignment. I believe this, over time, has conditioned firefighters that when they hear a PASS device it is not an emergency, it is a false alarm. This takes away our sense of urgency when we hear the alarm that a firefighter is down and needs help.”
Reducing false alarms is just the beginning. Chiefs and firefighters alike would like PASS units to do much, much more. For instance, Wolverton also would like PASS devices to set off alarms in pre-flashover conditions, getting firefighters out of harm's way before a mayday can occur.
Another item on the PASS wish list is integrated GPS. This would track each firefighter's position in real time, then transmit that position back to the incident commander via radio or built-in transmitter. “In addition, I would like the transmissions to include your breathing rate and how much air you have left,” says Glendale (Ariz.) firefighter Brent Gowens. “That's sort of the Holy Grail of possible PASS technology for me.”
“I would like a PASS system to immediately display on the incident commander's monitor when an individual radio user or group have got themselves into a mayday situation,” says Chief Robert Rielage of Wyoming (Ohio) Fire-EMS. “I would also like to see PASS devices integrated with radios, in the sense that when an officer triggers his PASS device, a signal is automatically sent out via their handheld. That signal should contain enough data so that dispatch would know that [for example] radio 29711 is declaring a mayday as soon as it happens.”
When it comes to locational data, latitude and longitude aren't much help when a fire is being fought inside an 20-story high-rise. This is why St. Louis Chief Dennis Jenkerson wants PASS devices “to track and transmit in three dimensions, so that rescuers can determine not only where a downed officer is, but what floor they are on. This is important in all instances, but particularly useful during a floor collapse, if an injured officer who was on the fifth floor is now on the fourth.”
Milwaukee Fire Chief Douglas Holton echoes this idea. “I want telemetry from my PASS devices,” he says. “I want to know where our members are at all time, and how their SCBA equipment is doing.”
“I want PASS devices to offer extremely long battery life, because having to replace a battery requires taking an SCBA out of service, and that's something we just don't want to do,” Despain says. “Frankly, we also need a simple, straightforward way to swap out PASS batteries that could be done quickly in the field.”
Finally, fire chiefs would like advanced PASS technology to cost less, so that they can afford to buy it. “This technology is so expensive, and all fire departments seem to be on limited budgets these days,” says Jenkerson. “This kind of equipment never seems to be a priority with governments either. At best, you get to play with advanced PASS devices during testing, but you don't get to keep them.”
Wanting more for less is a tall order, but there's a lot riding on PASS devices. [FC]
James Careless is a freelance journalist who regularly covers public safety issues, including communications. His credits include Law and Order, Government Video, and Fire Fighting in Canada magazines.
Related Links:
Subscribe
Subscribe
Subscribe
Subscribe
Subscribe
Subscribe
