A group of firefighters from Chillicothe Fire Department and Chillicothe Community Fire Department Stations 1 (Chillicothe Chestnut St), 2 (Chillicothe Bradley Ave), 4 (Rome), and 5 (Mossville) were at Pearce playing dodgeball on February 27. These community volunteers showed up in full turnout gear and SCBAs (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) to see how long one tank (4500psi) of oxygen would last during strenuous exercise/conditions.
Breathing is perhaps the most important skill in any fire rescue effort because fire victims are often overcome by smoke and carbon monoxide, according to experts.
For firefighters, managing the air in their tanks can be the difference between life and death. Fire departments regularly conduct air aware drills. All of the sliding, running, bending, crawling, throwing and dodging is designed to make them aware of air; to demonstrate how quickly an air tank intended to last half an hour can run out of air when the person wearing it is working and breathing hard.
Many of them say the most important piece of equipment to health and safety of a firefighter is the SCBA. During dodgeball, firefighters are getting used to paying attention to the air pressure gauge while facing all kinds of distractions. The gauge has an alarm that warns them when their air pressure is getting low.
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