Fire in Windsor, CT apartment Complex

[sparlin]

We were maybe the third or fourth arriving apparatus. We got up to the fire floor (second floor) which was filled with smoke. We were told to put our masks on at that time and when I did, I noticed that my bottle had a leak. I tried troubleshooting the problem, but was also trying to be quick.

What should I have done at this point? Well, I said "screw it" and went in anyway, knowing that I would need to bail sooner than I wanted to because I was already running out of air.

[DTLarson]

I am assuming that you didn't even open your bottle before you got to the door or else you would have noticed the leak. In my department, it is standard practice that you open the bottle before you even put it on and if there is a problem like a leak or some idiot pulled the straps as tight as they could go, we put the pack down and grab the next one and do the same thing. You may want to do this in the future. I do one step further and once I have the pack on but before I do anything I hook the regulator up to my mask and take one or two breaths to make sure it works and I have no leaks from my mask <my face doesn't pit perfect in any scott mask so I usualyl have to pull tighter which is tough with a hood and helmet on. I hope this helps.


David Larson