SCBA Evaluation

[grains]

Our department is getting ready to go out for bid on new SCBA, which we have not done in approximately 15 years. It is our intention to invite most, if not all, of the major players who manufacture SCBA.

What I am looking for is an evaluation process that you may have used in the past that helped your department select the brand of SCBA you currently use.

I tried searching the forums here, but really did not find anything that matched what I was looking for.

Thanks.

Greg

[SamsonFCDES]

We tried a few kinds and ended up going with Drager PSS 100s because we had fiarly local service and support. The after sale situation is just as important as the pac itself.

IMO you cant go wrong with drager, Scott, or MSA

[scbaguy]

Our department is in the process of upgrading our Scot 2.2's(2216psi) to high pressure, 4500psi. We will be looking at a simple upgrade from 2.2 to 4.5, or going with Scott's new NXG2 air pack. We did not look at other manufacturers.

However, because we will have to have all new cylinders no matter which route we take, we did have a small evaluation process to decide which size(duration) cylinder to get. Here's what we did;
1st, the Chief formed an SCBA committee. The committee met, and decided that because this is such a big decision, we wanted input from the entire department.(about 200 people)
We had our Scott rep bring one of each size cylinder to us. We put them all in a pack frame. We also had him bring a NXG2 air pack with each cylinder size along too. We had each company on each shift rotate through our training building. While there, we explained what we were doing in regard to upgrading our SCBA's, and allowed everyone to try on each pack. They could directly compare weight and feel of each combination. They could also compare feel and weight of what our current packs against the new NXG2's. The committee had printed a "ballot" for each member to vote on their preference. We tallied the votes, and went back to the Chief with the results.


Along those same lines, when our department upgraded our hydraulic tools, that committee had a "play day" type event. They had each manufacturer(one at a time) bring a complete set of tools out and give a sales pitch, they were allowed to ask questions. Then, the committee used each tool. They had some cars and metal to cut and lift and bend. After each manufacturers turn they sat down and compared notes and finally came up with a recommendation.

I would highly recommend you get some of each SCBA's, and use them and play with them. Set up a SCBA confidence course and run each manufacturers equipment through it. Be sure that your evaluators use all the different manufacturers equipment, so they can give an opinion on a direct comparison.

Good luck!! and let us know what you guys do.

[Bones42]

I would highly recommend you get some of each SCBA's, and use them and play with them. That's what we did. Took a little while as we don't have our own burn/smoke building, but in the end was worth it.

[HM604OH]

The first thing you need to remember is that every manufacturer's rep can make their unit look good. You should bring them in but you also need to talk to departments that are currently using each unit. When you talk to other departments, make sure that you talk to the firefighters who use the units and the individual within the department responsible for maintaining the units. How well do they hold up under actual fire conditions?

Another important point to consider is field maintenance. What can be repaired in the field and what requires the unit be returned to an authorized service center. This can have a big impact on your overall costs and your ability to keep units in service.

Finally, I want to second the point others have raised about having members of your dept test the units on a confidence course. This won't necessarily reveal all of the weaknesses of a unit, but it will allow your firefighters to become familiar with it.

[toddman]

Our dept just went through this as well. We asked the vendors to come and give a demo of their products and then we compared the packs side by side. We looked at Scott, MSA, Drager and ISI. After review we asked the top two contenders: MSA and Drager (in our opinion) to let us use their packs for a week of evaluation. After the evaluation we chose Drager. I realy don't think that you will go wrong on any of the "top three" (my opinion) Scott, MSA or Drager.

Good Luck

[npfd801]

We are just now putting new MSAs into service, paid for by a FEMA grant. The process was tedious, and it came down to Scott and MSA, MSA ultimately winning as we were competing their latest gen. pack against the NXG2. We tried to tell most of the membership that the MSA was better matched by the AP50s, but MSA still won by the general vote, and as it was competing against the NXG2, was priced much better as well. (In my opinion the NXG2 was the winner hands-down, but - I'm still pleased with the MSAs.)

To me, I don't think either MSA or Scott could do us wrong, as we have strong dealer support in the area, and the MSAs were loaded for what we got them for. 40 new packs with 30 min. high pressure bottles, 3 packs with 60 min. bottles for RIT, a spare bottle for each pack, facepieces for every member, voice amps, RIT connections, blah blah. Honestly, going from MSA's with the belt mount regulators and low pressure bottles, we would have been tickled pink with anything newer, lighter, and with MMRs.

Whatever you do, have a day where you put all of the packs through their paces, on the same day. Bust your ass in them, to make sure you can breathe HARD in them. Heat and smoke are good, but even if you can't do that, see how natural the packs work for you in no visibility.

In my opinion, 50% of the satisfaction will be with the pack itself, the other half lies with your dealer.