[Scan-DC] Apparent working fire in PG

[Doug Kitchener]

Almost!  It blows fresh air into the air bottles that the firefighters use.  Seriously, it carries several _large_ cylinders of breathing air and is used to recharge the backpack SCBA units that the firefighters wear in toxic atmospheres.  Not dumb - actually a pretty valid question, now that I think about it.

If I recall, you can't just use air from a regular old gas-station air compressor because it has to be "breathable-quality", for lack of a better term... (how about "purified", now that I think of it?).  I have a hazy memory of a story about someone being killed because the air drawn in from a compressor was contaminated with carbon monoxide because the compressor's intake was near the exhaust of a running vehicle, or maybe the compressor was powered by a gas engine or something...

There are 2 air units (I think, maybe 3) in Montgomery County... the one from BCC Rescue Squad just has the bottles (called a cascade system because of the way that the bottles are linked together).  The one at Silver Spring Station 16 (University Boulevard and 495) may have a compressor on it... that one is a light unit as well (ie floodlights).

Re fresh air into the structure, there are gadgets called PPVs (positive pressure ventilation) or smoke ejectors, used to clear out smoke and toxic gases.  They're basically fans, but the electric ones (still called smoke ejectors, I think) have explosion-proof motors.  From what I understand, the PPVs are larger, have gasoline engines and blow air in, while the smoke ejectors do just that, blow smoke out.  Hope I have that correct and that it doesn't cause any (additional!) confusion!

Naw, the aircraft is in the police dept!  (Actually, now part of Traffic Mgt and no longer connected with the PD - I think!)

Now that I've done this, I see Lt. Brown has answered up as well... let me grade my essay!

;)

DK

A volunteer fireman back in the previous century...

----------------------------------------
> To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:12:37 -0500
> From: b_thom at juno.com
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Apparent working fire in PG
>
>
>
> On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:50:27 -0400 Doug Kitchener 
> writes:
>>
>> A Montgomery County air unit was just dispatched as part of the task
>> force, and Montgomery Truck 712 (Hillandale) is being transferred
>> into PG (I missed what station.)
>>
>> DK
>
> To clarify, an "air unit" blows fresh air throughout the structure after
> the fire is out, right? Sorry if the question is dumb, but I doubt MoCo
> has aircraft in its FD.

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