Fire and Rescue Department Completes S.C.B.A. Implementation
In January of 2018, the Frederick County Fire and Rescue Department submitted an order for 327 new breathing apparatus units which were delivered on March 30. Below is a summary of the process and efforts that went into the purchase and implementation of the new Scott X3 Pro Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (S.C.B.A.).
Larry Oliver, Deputy Chief, Operations recognizes that “this program is a huge step for the fire and rescue system that was supported by the Board of Supervisors, County Administration, Senior Staff, Volunteer Fire and Rescue Stations, and all other levels of our fire and rescue system.”
Between March 30 and April 2, twenty-three pallets of equipment were delivered to a staging area at Reynolds Store Fire Station. Work on the implementation process began immediately with scanning and inventory of all equipment and labeling each piece to identify where the equipment was being assigned. It took approximately two weeks to scan, assign, and label all equipment.
During the week of April 16, Municipal Emergency Services (M.E.S.), Inc. supplied three S.C.B.A. Technicians to conduct “Acceptance Testing” for the Fire and Rescue Department. This acceptance testing included flow-testing every S.C.B.A. and other equipment to ensure that the settings met specifications as well as testing all components for proper functionality. During the acceptance testing, three S.C.B.A.s were found to have defective Heads-Up Displays and several settings had to be adjusted due to different atmospheric pressures and machine calibration differences, all of which were repaired accordingly. Acceptance Testing was completed on all S.C.B.A.s (327 of them) in just three days by the S.C.B.A. Technicians.
Starting on May 1st, the S.C.B.A. was deployed to all fire and rescue stations with actual full implementation occurring by Friday, May 4. There are many additional items that were completed during this timeframe by the S.C.B.A. Technicians and other personnel that assisted with the implementation process. According to Oliver, “currently, we are about 99% complete with the implementation with only a couple of items remaining that will be taken care of within the next couple of weeks.”
Department S.C.B.A. technicians, both career and volunteer, along with many others were instrumental in the smooth implementation of the new equipment. Dennis Linaburg, Fire and Rescue Chief acknowledges “there were too many people involved in this process to name names and not miss someone. Suffice it to say this process was efficient and seamless due to the professionalism and dedication of everyone involved at every level.”
###
