Scba Facepiece Fog Up

[ChrisTighe1981]

Can anyone tell me if the is a product or other idea to prevent facepiece fog up?

[Bones42]

Don't wear the facepiece until you are supplying it with air.

Tried and true method that works every time.

[FireMedic049]

Can anyone tell me if the is a product or other idea to prevent facepiece fog up?

Yes, but I have no idea what it's called. Our vendor gave us a bunch of "wipes" to use. It seemed to work, but needed reapplied periodically.

[Phaedrus]

Don't wear the facepiece until you are supplying it with air.

Tried and true method that works every time.

Very true, but I wondered about this on one of my few fire calls I got to go on:

We were second due engine company, IC wanted us to stretch a secondary attack line and back up the initial attack line ASAP - the guys I was riding with (I'm not out of academy yet, so no interior for me) put their masks on before we even got to the fireground, so that when we arrived on scene all we had to do was grab our tools, pull the line+50' to the door, and then they went on air and entered the structure (following PAR procedures, of course).

The thing that sucks is I know their masks were pretty fogged by the time we got to the door, is this bad form or is this specifically why there is anti-fog products out there?

[KB1OEV]

The thing that sucks is I know their masks were pretty fogged by the time we got to the door, is this bad form or is this specifically why there is anti-fog products out there?

This is always the question, put it on and be ready but fogged up, or wait and take a few seconds longer before going in. Follow your SOPs and officer direction.

Once on air, the masks unfog pretty quickly. If you are wearing it for a while you can take a few breaths from the bottle once in a while to keep control of the fog. I don't like to use the purge valve for this as many seem to do, I think it uses more air than you generally would with a couple breaths.

[SIMP0LMAN]

if in route and told to be ready to go in appon arrival, i find a little bit of spit in the mask does the trick

[ffmedcbk1]

Don't wear the facepiece until you are supplying it with air.

Tried and true method that works every time.

this is the way to do it appropriately.

What about the tripping hazards? if you tried to do your personal size-up what would you see? window lay outs, smoke conditions, structural issues?

the best way is NOT WEARING the mask till you need to.

[jbrescue]

A light coating of no tears shampoo works. Buff is on and off. I use a product called Cat Crap that I got at a ski shop for goggles. Rain X works also.

[RFDACM02]

This is always the question, put it on and be ready but fogged up, or wait and take a few seconds longer before going in. Follow your SOPs and officer direction.

No question here. The few extra seconds are "my time" so that I can have the best visibility of the fireground, my exits, the conditions, etc. We preach and teach mask up when needed not before. Obviously there's some debate on when "air is needed" but that will rage on forever, I can tell you it's not in the cab of the truck or far outside the building.

[YFDLt08]

A light coating of no tears shampoo works. Buff is on and off. I use a product called Cat Crap that I got at a ski shop for goggles. Rain X works also.

This post should be pulled immediatly as it complains completely erroneous and potentially legally problematic information. I went into a local sporting goods store and asked for some "cat crap" and was quickly shown the door by security!


On a side note...I belong to the group of mask up at the point of entry/need mentality. The other group says it takes too long and you need to be ready as soon as your truck stops. I say it only takes me 7 seconds (on a slow day.) I get a better view and have better communications capability than the other group all at the expense of 7 seconds. And before anyone gives me the line of "7 seconds could mean life and death to a victim"...don't!

By the way, I'm not bragging, I practice.

[Triper]

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motor...isor-anti-fog/

It does exist, so he wasn't playing a practical joke.

[bigrig77]

I'm with "put it on at the door". You need to see what is going on out there. Plus a few seconds in the heat and most of the time the fog goes away. If your masking up in the truck then your doing it all wrong. You want to put the pack on, fine. You want to test the air and just make sure everything is OK, alright (you should have done this when you got to work). If you mask up you are basically saying " I have tunnel vision and will not be getting a full view of the situation." or "hey i might need to be saved because i didn't look to see where the windows and other means of egress are." As YFD said it takes 7 seconds to mask up. and if it takes longer then PRACTICE MORE!!!

[VinnieB]

Don't wear the facepiece until you are supplying it with air.

Tried and true method that works every time.

Amazing how well this works huh Bones?

It takes a few seconds to put the facepiece on and follow up with the hood and helmet...really...on a few seconds. One of the most foolish things taught today is getting off the rig with a facepiece on.....on so many levels this is totally...WRONG. Instant tunnel vision. Exactly what benefit does having it on getting off the rig anyway?

Save you money, use your brain and put it on when you need it. Not 3 miles away. 17 years...my fair share of fires....I can't recall ONE time when having it on before I got there was needed.....

[YFDLt08]

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motor...isor-anti-fog/

It does exist, so he wasn't playing a practical joke.

Thanks, Triper. Sorry though that you missed my attempt at humor. I'll remove my tongue from my cheek and speak more clearly next time.

[Catch22]

Before you put anything on your mask, contact the manufacturer to make sure what they recommend. Several of these materials will damage the mask and will void the warrantee, if not cause failure. My bet is it won't matter who your SCBA is made by, they're going to tell you the only things to put on it is water, a mild soap solution, and whatever disinfecting solution they recommend. Windex, Rain-X, and anything else won't be on the list.

Bones has it right, don't put it on until you are ready to go on air. I've never understood the theory of putting it on in the truck. All you're doing is limiting your visibility. I can't count the guys I've seen come crashing out of a truck because they masked up en route. The 7-seconds you save are being wasted as you try to look through the mask to see where you're going. You're also missing everything that your eyes are going to tell you about the scene, smoke, structure, etc.

[Triper]

Thanks, Triper. Sorry though that you missed my attempt at humor. I'll remove my tongue from my cheek and speak more clearly next time.

I was never good at picking up sarcasm through text.

[Phaedrus]

Sweet, lots of great responses. I had no idea this was an area of somewhat controversy, but I will be reviewing our SOPs and if we don't have to don in the truck then I won't.
It does only take a few seconds, which is definetly worth it for the vision afforded by not wearing a mask during scene sizeup. Even though in the scenario we were second due, it's every firefighter's responsibility to size up.

[Catch22]

]... it's every firefighter's responsibility to size up.[/B]

EXACTLY!!!

[Lono]

I know they make/sell stuff for scuba/diving masks, but I don't know if it would work for this application.

[jbrescue]

Thanks, Triper. Sorry though that you missed my attempt at humor. I'll remove my tongue from my cheek and speak more clearly next time.

It's OK, I got it. But the stuff works