Lucas Volunteer Fire Department

2003 Volunteer Certification Training
Adv 14 - Ropes & SCBAs
Collin County Community College
October 25, 2003
Photos by Ron Grotti
Members of the Lucas Fire Department continue to work toward their Advanced Firefighter Certification at the Collin County Community College's Fire Science Training facility.

This week's lesson is the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) portion of the Ropes & SCBAs class.

The Texas Commission on Fire Protection Basic Structure Fire Suppression Performance Standards require that:

  • "The firefighter trainee shall demonstrate the 'operation check' of a Self-contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and PASS device. The trainee shall demonstrate the 'daily inspection' or 'operational check' that is performed ensure the SCBA and PASS device have no deficiencies that would limit or hinder its safe, prompt, and proper use.

    "The trainee shall accomplish the skill in less than 4 minutes."

  • "The firefighter trainee, while wearing full protective clothing, shall properly don a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) using the coat method.

    "The trainee will have a maximum time of 1 minute."

  • "The firefighter trainee, while wearing full protective clothing, shall demonstrate the procedure for donning the SCBA using the over the head method. "The trainee will have a maximum time limit of 1 minute."

  • "The fire fighter trainee shall demonstrate the replacement of an expended SCBA air cylinder with a fully charged cylinder. "The trainee shall accomplish all of the identified steps in less than 1 1/2 minutes."
After the lecture portion of the class, everyone moved to the College's apparatus bay for hands on practice and timed drills.