Personal Protective Equipment
Due to the intense radiant heat generated by burning fuels, firefighters wear protective ensembles that are coated with a silvered material to reflect heat away from their bodies, called a fire proximity suit. They also must wear self-contained breathing apparatus to provide a source of clean air, enabling them to work in the presence of smoke or other super-heated gases, such as when making entry into the burning cabin of an aircraft.
Secondary to the hazard mitigation and safe evacuation of ambulatory passengers is the need to perform rescue operations. Passengers unable to extricate themselves must be removed from the aircraft and provided medical care. This process is extremely labor-intensive, requiring both firefighters and support personnel. Due to the nature of a mass casualty incident, rescue workers employ triage to classify the victims and direct their efforts where they can best affect survival.
Subsequent to the emergency being declared under control, the ARFF function reverts to one of protecting the scene, eliminating any peripheral or slowly evolving hazards and assisting to preserve the scene for investigators. In many cases the FAA will perform the investigatory duties but in instances where significant injuries or any fatal accident the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate and the ARFF contingent will assist where needed.
Read more about this topic: Aircraft Rescue And Firefighting
Famous quotes containing the words personal, protective and/or equipment:
“A man who has nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the existing of better men than himself.”
—John Stuart Mill (1806–1873)
“The car has become the carapace, the protective and aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
“Biological possibility and desire are not the same as biological need. Women have childbearing equipment. For them to choose not to use the equipment is no more blocking what is instinctive than it is for a man who, muscles or no, chooses not to be a weightlifter.”
—Betty Rollin (b. 1936)