SCBA air control

[mdoddsjffhnfc]

hello all, i've been in the fire service for 4 years as a junior. I'm currently going through my county fire academy. I had my SCBA module last month. We did 2 evolutions each for 2 nights. The evolutions on the first night didn't work out as well for me. I killed my bottle (Scott 4500 30 min bottle) in maybe 8-10 minutes, and the same for my 2nd bottle. The next night, i had about 1100 psi left in my bottles after about a 10 minute evolution. We were doing left/right hand (primary) searches inside our smoke tower.

Can anyone provide any tips or tricks of the trade that might be able to help me slow my breathing and conserve what i have in my bottle? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Stay Safe

[Bones42]

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

And practice, practice, practice, practice. once you get a little more confident and used to it, your breathing will slow down.

[PFDTruck18]

Take slow breaths in thru the nose then hold for a second then exhale slowing thru your mouth like youre trying to whistle. It slounds stupid, but maybe you can sing to yourself (quietly :) ). This helps regulate your breathing pattern. If youre blowing thru a bottle in 10 mins doing searches then youre really gonna eat it up advancing a line. Since youre new it might just be nerves. Calm down, relax, do what youre trained to do. Concentrate on breathing slowly and calming down. Youll get better with experience and once the "newness" of this job wears off. Good luck.

[Rodeo1]

I had the same problem when I started nine years ago. and a more seasoned firefighter told me just to keep talking. ( to my partner or just to myself) if you are talking then you only breath when you stop. a normal scotts pack(30min.) lasts me now about 20mins. trying to slow down your breathing takes time. and the bigger the fire the harder it is. even for the guys that have been doing it for years. so just keep trying and it will come.

[MrIrons]

In the military they teach us to skip breath, inhale twice thru nose and exhale thru the mouth. I know it sounds like it would use more air but it doesnt. It makes you think about your breathing and that makes a big difference. Your physical condition and confidence play a big part too. Keep working and it will get better.

Good luck

[EastKyFF]

Keep yourself in good physical condition, watch your weight, and concentrate on controlling your breathing.

And don't undervalue proper donning and equipment condition! If you have a bad seal on your face, certain head movements or facial expressions (especially surprise!) can cause the seal to break and leak some air. Also, make sure you're getting all your connections correct, and if you use older SCBA with a low-pressure hose, give that thing a good stretching and make sure there's no dry rot, cracking, or damage on it.

Just takes lots of experience.

[Scothew]

Something we practice as a volunteer department is we suit up and put packs on, and walk around the station and the surrounding field to practice breathing slow and getting used to it. Last night was my 2nd time in a pack and I noticed myself controlling my breathing much more than the first time I had one on.

[FFTide]

I remember my first times just over a year ago. You need to have confidance and faith that the air will be there when you breath. I know you have to 'actively' breath in the SCBA, that is to say you can't take wimpy breaths, but if you concentrate on in the nose and out the mouth and have that faith that air will be there when you need it you'll get more comfortable. Good luck

Best thing I can suggest is like Scothew said, just wear it around the station in your gear and run your tank empty. When your vibe alert or bell starts ringing really concentrate on skip breathing or slowing your breaths down, you should still get 4-6 more minutes out of the bottle at that level. Even when it seems like no more air is coming out, crack your bypass and you can squeeze a few more breaths this way. Go all the way empty so you feel the sensation of having nothing left (have someone by you to take off your mask just incase) then with your gloves on take the regulator off. A few times of this and I promise you'll be must more comfortable.

[DianeC]

I skimmed the other posts quickly, so I don't know if this was brought up -- have you tried a smaller face mask? You'd be amazed at the air that escapes if you don't have a good seal.

[mdoddsjffhnfc]

I skimmed the other posts quickly, so I don't know if this was brought up -- have you tried a smaller face mask? You'd be amazed at the air that escapes if you don't have a good seal.

to answer your question, i'm not sure if a smaller mask would work. I took a fit test with that mask prior to starting Firefighter 1, and i passed the fit test with good results. The current size mask works great and fits fine (Scott AV-3000 Medium, think thats the way the sizing goes for that mask)



Thanks to all for giving suggestions, i shall attempt to put them to use. Please, however, keep the suggestions comming. Thanks again for your help, and as always, stay safe!

[doughesson]

I've been shown skip breathing.That's where you take a breath,hold it for as long as it would normally take to exhale that air,and then take another breath before exhaling at the usual rate while will vary because of how hard you are working.
I'm an air hawg as well.Our MSA packs are pressurized to 4,500 lbs and are supposed to give us an hour's worth or work.I am usually down to just above the redline when the IC calls us off the job because of our 45 minute time limit on interior attack.

[lexfd5]

The talking works. I get yelled at for being a chatty cathy but when we exit I tend to have more air left.