Get An Idea On The Way Self Contained Breathing Apparatus Came To Be

By Author: Jo Alelsto
Total Articles: 405
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Firefighters today cannot get inside fire and smoke filled establishments without wearing and carrying the appropriate gear. While it is imperative to put out ravaging fire by carrying the right fire fighting equipment to the spot, it is also extremely important to put one's life at lowest possible risk. One way to do this is by wearing the appropriate breathing device. Most rescuers have been seriously harmed because of not observing the basics in rescue missions and fire brigades. One of these is to ensure that they must keep themselves safe while saving others or saving properties.

Perhaps the most important inventions when it comes to firefighting is the breathing apparatus. Dark smoke is the number one impediment during firefighting. It blurs the scene, making visual detection even more difficult - sometimes impossible. But more alarmingly, smoke is a combination of toxic gases, fumes and irritating particulates. Upon getting inhaled, these compounds pose severe risks.

The first to use a breathing device was John Deane, who was then helping an ordinary farmer whose barn caught fire. It was by sheer innovativeness ...
... that Deane was able to help the farmer save his horses from being burnt during a fire accident that consumed his barn in 1818. He made the farmer use a helmet and attached a hand operated pump to supply air into the helmet. The farmer was, in fact, able to save his horses and livestock. When Deane became a ship's corker, he was able to perfect the smoke helmet which protected any firefighter when entering smoke filled burning holds. This smoke helmet, which was created in 1823, was supplied with fresh air through a hose which in turn was connected to an air pump outside the affected area. Because of this Deane, including his brother, was able to get a patent for such firefighting device.

In 1847, the first gas mask was invented by Lewis Haslett. This mask contained a filter made of porous materials dampened to keep dust and solid particulated from being inhaled. However, this device did not keep toxic gaseous compounds from being breathed in. Still, this device was patented. Shortly, in the 1850s, a chemist from Scotland named John Stenhouse was experimenting on the absorbing property of charcoal which could capture huge volumes of gas due to its porous material and high surface area. This was when activated charcoal was incorporated in gas masks to remove harmful gases upon filtration. It was an important invention back then, tough it is already considered crude by current standards. Note that activated carbon remains widely used in today's various filtration systems. In 1874, Samuel Barton of London designed an apparatus that would allow rescuers to be able to breathe inside chambers filled with harmful and poisonous fumes and smoke. Such device featured a face cover made of rubber and metal, rubber coated hood, head harness, and eye protective glass. This apparatus had one way valves that would support inhaling and exhaling. In addition, its filtering compounds included lime, activated charcoal, and cotton wool soaked in glycerol. In the late 1800s, the air filtration device resembled pig snouts.

James Braidwood invented a different type of hose mask which was an air pump to which a tube is connected. The pump is attached to an engine outside the building. Braidwood was actually a London Fire Brigade Superintendent and during his time the firefighters already wore thick leather suits with hood to protect themselves from extreme heat. In 1863, this invention was modified by A. Lacour to whom the patent was granted. This self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) consisted of an impermeable bag made of thick dual canvas with inner lining of rubber. The bag of pure air was able to supply air from 10 to 30 minutes. More inventions followed but the most interesting invention was that one by the Deane brothers. That invention was a precursor to many modern SCBAs.
Jo is a writer for 'Resmar Ltd' (http://www.resmar.co.uk), the preferred Marine Safety Equipment provider to many of the world's biggest shipping companies and other top companies. If your company is searching for better quality but reasonably priced Self Contained Breathing Apparatus(SCBA) then you ought to take a look at Resmar Ltd.