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Firefighter Standards for a SCBA

First developed in May 1971, the NFPA Standard on Respiratory Protective Equipment for Fire Fighters was designed to permit only self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Since then, the standard has been updated multiple times with the last one being in December 2006. However, what remains the same is the basic framework for firefighters to follow for their personal respiratory safety.

  1. Scope of Standard

    • NFPA 1981 was written to specify the minimum requirements for the design, performance, testing and certification of SCBA's for emergency service personnel. It lays out the minimum levels of protection for personnel who enter into atmospheres that are categorized as "immediate danger to life or health (IDLH)." This is an atmosphere where the ambient oxygen is minimal and toxic chemicals can be found in the air.

    Changes to Current Standard

    • Changes made to the current version of the standard include mandatory third-part certification of SCBAs, quality assurance checks from the manufacturers, heat and flame testing for the entire unit, abrasion testing of the face-piece and communication performance requirements.

      Other changes include testing and exclusion of redundant end-of-service-time indicators (EOSTI), standards for the heads-up displays (HUD) which provide visual information to the firefighter wearing the facepiece, as well as a universal air connection system (RIC UAC) which will allow emergency replenishment of breathing air to the SCBA from an intervention crew or company.

    Compliance Requirements

    • At a bare minimum, a SCBA unit must be first tested and certified by NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) standard titled NIOSH 42 CFR Part 84. The SCBA must also be certified by a third-party organization that meets accreditation for personal protective equipment (PPE).

      Companies that certify SCBAs must submit applications that provide details on the first and second stage regulator assemblies, face-pieces, back frames, heads-up displays and the pressure hoses with gauges.

    Tests Performed

    • In order to comply with the standard, the SCBA and materials included in the unit must pass the following tests: air flow performance, environmental temperature, communications performance, face-piece carbon-dioxide (CO2) content performance, end-of-service-time indicator (EOSTI) performance, heads-up display (HUD) performance and RIC UAC performance.

      Other tests include resistance to the following: fabric and thread heat, accelerated corrosion, vibration, particulate matter, fabric flame, face-piece lens abrasions and high levels of heat and flame resistance.

    Major Revisions

    • Major revisions in testing include the air cylinder and valve assembly retention performance test which determines how much the cylinder moves within the back frame. Another test for the cylinder includes the accessibility of the hand-wheel and the RIC UAC connection by someone wearing an extra-large NFPA compliant glove.

      An additional immersion leakage performance test evaluates water leakage and the function of electronic components being heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit in six cycles of 10 minutes which is then followed by submersion in water that is 4.9 feet deep for 15 minutes.

      Finally, more stringent test rules are updated for the existing communications performance test.

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