SCBA Mask with Glasses

[ActionGoose]

i was talking about this with a couple of people, and one person said why dont i just get contacts. ive heard negative things about wearing contacts on the fireground. is their really any problem with that?

I wear contacts.

Its usually okay, but a piece of ash got in my face at a chimney fire, and I had to have someone flush it out with saline. Invariably, this stuff happens at the worst possible time.

[toutdoors]

I wear contacts at work and have no problem with them when I am wearing my SCBA. I wear the two week throw away kind, and they work just fine. There have been a few fires where I would take them out after the fire and toss them, because they will dry out on you a little bit after going through a couple of bottles at a fire. I wear glasses at night at work, and have no problem when we arrive on scene, toss the glasses on the dash and go to work. I am not that bad without glasses on so I don't worry that much about it. I have never had the spectacle kit in my face piece for one very simple reason; if I have to wear my facepiece, then odds are that the visibility will suck any way due to smoke.
In regards to my contacts burning to my eyeballs, I have never worried about it. Seriously, if the heat penetration through my facepiece is going to be that great that it will melt my contacts to my eyes, then I am probably in a world of hurt anyway.
If your eye doc is a pretty good guy, he may let you take 2 or four pair of contacts home to see what type is most comfortable for you. Then go don your SCBA and see how you feel with that positive pressure on your contacts.
Good luck

[Blackhat4540]

Dont do conctacts

i may run by my eye doctor and tell him i want to get contacts but tell him i am a firefighter and see what he recommends. its either that i guess or get the surgery. what is the success(or risk) rate with that kind of surgery? and how much does it cost? plus if i get it now will that be a problem when applying to a career department?

It is true that some people have no problems with contacts while wearing SCBA's, and some do. but i wouldn't risk it, id rather have a little fog on my lenses with the insert then contacts, for the simple point of, if **** happens and your down and have to call a mayday.. or just in a bad situation, flashover what have you, your probably going to have enough burns and **** to worry about, but at lest you would be able to still see with inserts, i don't know about you, but something burning to my eyeball just dosnt seem like a good time to me. Actually i believe they dont even allow contacts anymore. This post is a few years old, but i just wanted to voice my opinion for anyone in the future

[grains]

I was issued a set of the rubber strap GI specs a few years back (Army). Been using them for quite a while, and have NEVER had any air loss in my mask. I don't care if some OSHA reg says that's a no go or not, they work just fine for me. If I know I'm going to flow air, I pull out my mask from my mask bag, put my glasses in the bag, stow the bag behind my seat, and put on my GI go to war specs. I then don my mask as required and press on. Even if lets say I have a tiny leak from my mask, it's LOTS better than having some half blind guy running around the fireground. Now that's an accident waiting to happen. The GI frame and strap can be had from Ranger Joe's or some similar web catalog.

All manufacturers provide spec kits for their mask so you won't be faced with the situation you're describing above.

You may not care what OSHA says, but I would bet your department does.

Check with your SCBA technician and they should be able to provide you with the frames, which you can take to your optometrist to have them filled with your lens correction.

I remember the GI type frames you're referring to. I had the same ones issued to me in the Navy, only we called them BC glasses (BC for Birth Control)

[Sta46JAM]

GI "combat" glasses

I was issued a set of the rubber strap GI specs a few years back (Army). Been using them for quite a while, and have NEVER had any air loss in my mask. I don't care if some OSHA reg says that's a no go or not, they work just fine for me. If I know I'm going to flow air, I pull out my mask from my mask bag, put my glasses in the bag, stow the bag behind my seat, and put on my GI go to war specs. I then don my mask as required and press on. Even if lets say I have a tiny leak from my mask, it's LOTS better than having some half blind guy running around the fireground. Now that's an accident waiting to happen. The GI frame and strap can be had from Ranger Joe's or some similar web catalog.

[jlcooke3]

i may run by my eye doctor and tell him i want to get contacts but tell him i am a firefighter and see what he recommends. its either that i guess or get the surgery. what is the success(or risk) rate with that kind of surgery? and how much does it cost? plus if i get it now will that be a problem when applying to a career department?

Get the surgery if you can. The success rate is high but like any surgery there are risk. Cost vary usually around $1000 and up per eye. There should be no problem when applying to a career dept. The only thing I could suggest is shop around, get refrences, and talk with each doctor you are interested in. Good luck.

[KevinFFVFD]

i may run by my eye doctor and tell him i want to get contacts but tell him i am a firefighter and see what he recommends. its either that i guess or get the surgery. what is the success(or risk) rate with that kind of surgery? and how much does it cost? plus if i get it now will that be a problem when applying to a career department?

[bobsnyder]

Have you tried on someone's mask who doesn't seem to have any problems with fogging? That also might help determine if it is the shape of your face, or a problem with the mask/spectacle insert.

I tried it with a couple of different facepieces, including one on which I was fit-tested successfully without it, and got the same results each time...fogging with the insert and no fogging without it. I don't think the problem came from the facepieces.

[johnny46]

I've been wearing contact lenses for many years now, and I have not had any trouble with them on the job.

The brand I wear is called Day/Night (or Night/Day). Basically I wear them for 1 month, then toss them and replace with a new pair. Normally I don't have to remove them during that month.

They function great, both on the fire ground, and while driving, even when waking up in the middle of the night.

I would like to try the Lasik surgery, if I could just nut up and deal with having somebody slice my eyeball. I would also like to see our insurance pay for it, or at least a portion.

Clear skies.

Do it, do it.

I got it done. I have this brow ridge like a neanderthal which made it a pain, but it is unbelievable.

[doughesson]

I don't wear contacts due to having strong reflexes when something nears my eyeball.Obviously,I don't like the idea of sticking things in them so I stick with glasses til I can pony up for the Lasik surgery,which uses lasers and not sharp knives near the eye,which was a rich source of amusement to my ex,who worked for an opthamalogic surgeon.
If the idea of prescription ground facepieces was a working concept,that would sound like a plan.

[FTMPTB15]

The brand I wear is called Day/Night (or Night/Day). Basically I wear them for 1 month, then toss them and replace with a new pair. Normally I don't have to remove them during that month.

They function great, both on the fire ground, and while driving, even when waking up in the middle of the night.

Yup... that's what I wear. I want to say they are Focus Night/Day. It's what my doctor recommended after I told him that I'd need to be able to sleep in them, yet not cause major problems for my eyes. When I started wearing this brand (probably 4+ yrs ago) they were the "most breathable" (something like that) on the market. They allowed your eyes enough air, etc. So far, no problems... comfortable, reliable, and can't say I've had "stuff" get under the lenses. Of course, that's just me..

I too would like to get Lasik. I actually think we have some deal that we can get a discount on it. Although, I'm not too fond of having someone slice my eyeball while I am AWAKE!!

[grains]

Wearing contacts will give you a high risk of getting "stuff" under the lens and a good chance to lose them, maybe when you need them most. The facepiece inserts are notorious for fogging even worse than the facepiece. I too had the surgery (LASIK at the time) and it's worked miracles.

One more thing-- as you can see from this thread, FWDbuff has had a major knot in his safety panties over this subject for a while. Don't be bullied, make up your own mind. Not being able to see on the fireground is a major safety issue, and sometimes digging in your pocket for your glasses after pulling off your mask just isn't practical, if you operate in the real world.

I've been wearing contact lenses for many years now, and I have not had any trouble with them on the job.

The brand I wear is called Day/Night (or Night/Day). Basically I wear them for 1 month, then toss them and replace with a new pair. Normally I don't have to remove them during that month.

They function great, both on the fire ground, and while driving, even when waking up in the middle of the night.

I would like to try the Lasik surgery, if I could just nut up and deal with having somebody slice my eyeball. I would also like to see our insurance pay for it, or at least a portion.

Clear skies.

[KevinFFVFD]

oh no, lets not get into a argument over this. i just wanted some advice.

[clancyxdogg]

See-- a response within 15 minutes. Mr. "wear-my-kind-of-specs-or-else" sure gets himself worked up over this. Like I said, don't be bullied.

I guess if I was a refinery worker, I'd be worried about OSHA and worker's comp,too. I'm not, though. Maybe Kevin isn't, either. Maybe after your "brothers" pulled you out of a fire they'd say "Oooooooh! Look at those glasses! I'm telling! " Mine wouldn't. Maybe Kevin's wouldn't, either.

Is the pump operator going to leave the panel and trudge up four flights of stairs to hand you your glasses? Do you think stuffing your gloves under your armpit and jamming your hands in your pocket while balancing a tool with your other hand on a pitched roof at night might be dangerous? How about transferring from a roof ladder to a ground ladder when your facepiece and inserts are all fogged up? Do you even wear glasses or inserts? And while we're at it, just how in the hell are you going to breathe all this stuff in wearing a positive-pressure SCBA, anyway?

"Name's FWD.
I wear a badge.
I'm a spectacle cop.
Da-da-dun -da.
Da-da-dun-DA DA! "

Sheesh. get over yourself.

[johnny46]

Hey Clancy- 1. Does having been a career firefighter for 10 years and a volunteer for 17 constitute "operating in the real world"? If so, whats wrong with placing your glasses on the dashboard of the truck, handing them to the pump operator, or putting them in a hard case? Never had a problem with my glasses. 2. Do you have any personal knowledge of a workers comp claim for a respiratory injury being denied "due to use of unapproved equipment?" I do. Worker using a set of the rubber strap military glasses denied bennies when he received a lung injury due to inhalation of hazardous vapors......Ultimately in the end, his employer picked up the (approx.) $325,000 costs for the injury, rehabilitation, lost time compensation, etc etc etc.

So, once again, I say: Why use something that is not approved, that will cost YOU money, when you can get something APPROVED, that wont cost you dime one?

Deep breaths, brother.