Haz Mat Fear

[ferrin]

I HATE TO HAVE TO PUT ON A HAZ MAT SUIT ON HELP

[ADSNWFLD]

You scared of the suit or what you are going into?

If it is the chemical remember that you are in the safest place on the scene. If the wind changes unprotected guys are screwed your still protected.
If it is the suit try keeping a towel in the suit to keep the window clean. That may lower your anxiety

[OFDfireman101]

Your anxiety is not that uncommon. Most people become more apprehensive as they lose "contact" with their environment. When you are in Level A you are fully-encapsulated so your senses are shot. My best advise would be to put on the suit as frequently as you can. If anyone asks just tell them you want to practice using tools and performing various tasks. Since manipulating tools is difficult when in the suit they probably won't think twice about it, plus it is good practice anyway. That will get you time to build confidence in the suit and become acclamated to the lose of senses.

Also something that I did initially was I'd take my knife in the suit with me. Now OBVIOUSLY you would never cut yourself out, but if you are a control freak like I am and gives you that little reassurance that you COULD get out anytime you want. After about 2 or 3 sessions I stopped bringing it in the suit and everything was fine.


Hope this helps.

[HM604OH]

I've had many trainees who were nervous about using a suit and all were able to overcome their anxiety. First, put the suit on and don't zip it up. Get used to working in it and the feel of it. Do some manual tasks. They take your mind off your claustrophobia. Once you start getting more comfortable, practice with the suit zipped partially. Once you are comfortable with that, seal it up. The suit will actually be easier to wear once it starts to develop some air pressure. The key is to gradually get used to the new environment. On

[ff7134]

For me putting on a Level A isn't that bad..I just think of it as putting on my Bunker gear. But like HM604OH said that is the way I was taught in Tech school. We still have a few people that don't like tutting them on...and that is how we prep them for training. But the main thing is just getting it on and getting use to it. Did you have a problem when you put on your SCBA??? It might be because you are feeling claustriphobic. Hope this help and let me know if you need any more ideas.

[hazfire32]

One thing we did to get used to the suits was to play a game of basketball. Of course if you are using hour bottles the game lasts much longer, but you start to forget how nerve racking the suits are. You are task oriented. Recently we had an in-service training using a C kit. For the most part it was the first time being in a suit since tech class for alot of us. At first it is nervous but once you focus on your task you get the job done and get out. Hope I helped