Regulator Failures Have you had one?

[Bones42]

Hose collapsed at the regulator.

The old "elephant trunks" had rings in them to prevent this. If the rings did not do their job and the hose collapsed, that would lead to low flow of air into the mask with no other warnings/alarms.

IMO.

[Weruj1]

universal NO AIR sign

.........uhm I think I know but I am askin for clairifcation ......choking sign ?

[dmleblanc]

I had an MSA fail on me in an attic years ago (probably very early 90's). It didn't cut my air supply, it started venting at the regulator (old belt-mounted style). I don't know how old the pack was at the time. I was able to extricate myself from the attic before all my air vented...fortunately there wasn't much smoke so even if it had failed completely I think I would have been OK.

At the time there was no regular maintenance being performed on the units themselves, only hydrotesting of bottles. Since then we have every unit flow-tested, checked, and serviced annually.

We've had a couple of other failures in recent years, but more like finding the problem while attempting to don it, not failing while in use.

I have been a firefighter for 16 years.

[Bones42]

universal NO AIR sign

(supposed to be a big blue face, but not working for some reason)

[stillPSFB]

Partner had one at a live fire training session - when new cylinders are shipped from the manufacturer, there are small desicant beads in the cylinders to absorb any moisture that might get in there. Unfortunately one of these beads stayed in when the department received the cylinder and put the valve in (cylinder was a replacement for a damaged one), and that bead became stuck in the valve and blocked it. This WAS supposed to be a session to help restore my partner's confidence after a fall through a floor, but instead it turned into a half mask sharing, half coughing and hacking exit (we were too far in for a hold-your-breath retreat).

My own regulator failure was on SCUBA - regulator seat fractured while 230 feet below - thankfully I had a redundant system.

[Rescue101]

Jcasey,You must of had a 2A not a 2.2. No way could you collapse the low pressure tube on a 2.2(mask mounted regulator).Samson,I don't know how you could get bottles that weren't hydro'd filled.NO REPUTABLE air supplier will fill bottles that aren't current,it's the FIRST thing you check.And to use equipment that hasn't been "benched"within 24 months(12 months preferable)is insane.You wonder why you have problems.Our Scotts are rigorously maintained and we still find a few needing repairs during their bench tests.Around here if DOL came in and found packs with no "bench"stickers on them,bottles out of hydro,or lack of maintainence checks and usage logs,you'd be facing fines in the thousands of dollars.Cut and dried,you're out of business.A neighboring dept just found that out. T.C.