scba purchase

[frfd26]

we are a small rural dept. that just received a fema grant for scba's . we have had some reps into show us there units. we have looked at scott's, survivair,draeger and isi,have not tried msa yet. we tried them on wore them around and have formed some opinions.But before we make final decisions, we are looking for feedback from some larger departments that use a scba everyday.Possibly web sites for comparisons any help is appreciated.Thanks

[ff7134]

We use CairnsAir PioneerPros. They are great, but the main thing is what would most suit you and your department. We got one type of pack from each dept and we set up some training burns. Then we had several different people wear them and they evaluated them and chose Cairns.

[quint1driver]

I'll start by saying we run scotts and have loved them for 20+ years.
Second, what do your mutual aid companies run? Would you benefit by having them be able to use your packs and vice-versa? Lastly, which is easiest to get serviced? We have to send the scotts out every time. Our local distributor sells msa, so they can't help. In summary, I would say scott or msa, unless you have a definite plus towards one of the smaller companies.

[leadlo]

We went from Scotts to ISI about eight years ago and could not be happier. When they came out with the composite bottles we bought a few to try out, we have been buying nothing else since. You really can't tell you have a bottle on from the weight of it. The mask hookup is fairly simple as long as you make sure you bleed all the air off before you try to unhook it.

[bobsnyder]

Originally posted by quint1driver
...what do your mutual aid companies run? Would you benefit by having them be able to use your packs and vice-versa?

This is a very good point. We and all of our primary mutual aid companies (inbound and outbound) use Scott. It's very nice to be able to grab a pack, cylinder, mask, etc. off of any rig and have it work the same way as/fit anything from any other rig, no matter what fire company it belongs to.

Just my $0.02.