PASS device (Personal Alert Safety System)

When Properly Used

Portable Fire Extinguisher is worth its Weight in Gold

I remember going to a fire several years ago as a firefighter assigned to a ladder company. I was the can man (пожарный с огнетушителем и багром) for the tour, which meant my tool assignment was a 6-foot wooden hook and a 21/2 –gallon water extinguisher. We were out on building inspection duty, and an alarm came in that we were not assigned to; however, because we were only six blocks away the dispatcher told us to respond. As we were responding we were informed of children possibly trapped in a rear (задний, расположенный в дальней от выхода части квартиры) bedroom.

We were the first company to arrive, and heavy smoke was pushing from the second-floor front window of a four-story apartment house. We proceeded to the fire apartment, and, as we forced entry, heavy smoke was pushing out of the apartment. Without the luxury of a hoseline, we proceeded to crawl down (продолжали ползти) a narrow smoke- and heat-filled hallway. The heat was tremendous, and the lieutenant kept pushing me down the hall, telling me we were getting closer to the fire.

At this time, we were able to see fire lapping out of a bedroom door. I was instructed to use my water extinguisher to hit the fire both around the top of the door and the ceiling, driving the fire back into the bedroom. The lieutenant then took my 6-foot hook, grabbed the bottom of the bedroom door with it, and pulled it closed. Fire was now lapping from around the door, and I was able to give quick short blasts of the extinguisher and knock it down. The forcible entry man climbed over our backs and with the lieutenant was able to search the rear bedrooms, finding no one. My job now was to stay at the door to the fire and protect lives until a hoseline was stretched and operating. It only took about 2 minutes to get the hoseline operating and for me to join my company in the search effort, but it felt like a lifetime. I have been to many fires since that day, both as a firefighter and an officer, and I have seen much accomplished with a little water extinguisher. It is an underrated piece of equipment that when properly used is worth its weight in gold.

Story by Mike Gala, Jr., Lieutenant, Ladder 148, FDNY

PASS device is an acronym for Personal Alert Safety System, a personal safety device used primarily by firefighters entering a hazardous IDLH environment such as a burning building, which sounds a loud audible alert to notify others in the area that the firefighter is in distress.

The PASS device will automatically activate if the device does not detect motion for a certain short period of time, typically 30 seconds, so that the alert will sound if the firefighter is seriously injured or otherwise incapacitated. Some devices use a ball bearing on a track to sense firefighter’s movement and others utilize an infrared beam against a mirror mounted on a spring. When activating for a lack of motion, the PASS device will typically emit a few seconds of a muted warning that activation is about to occur, so that a firefighter who has simply been motionless for a time but is safe, will be able to move slightly and thus reset the activation timer before a false activation occurs. The PASS device can also be activated manually in an emergency when a firefighter is lost or trapped.

While older models of PASS devices required manual arming by firefighters prior to entering a dangerous environment, the current application integrates the PASS device into the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) worn by firefighters so that it automatically functions when the SCBA air supply is engaged or when the SCBA is removed from its mounting bracket. Devices of these styles are powered by battery and are easily activated while wearing gloves. Moreover, they are intrinsically safe to operate in flammable or explosive atmospheres.

When activated, the PASS device emits a high-pitched audible alert of at least 95 decibels. On a fire ground, the sound of an activated PASS device indicates a true emergency and results in an immediate response to rescue the firefighter(s) in distress.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-27