FAIRFAX, Va. — A fire equipment magazine recently published an article regarding the NFPA Technical Committee (TC) on Respiratory Protection Equipment's proposed revision to the 2007 edition of NFPA 1981, The Standard on Open-circuit Self-contained Breathing Apparatus for Fire and Emergency Services, to make interoperability of SCBA cylinders a requirement of the standard.  
 
The article has sparked almost daily, and sometimes heated, information from both those who support the revisions and those who do not.  The IAFC has reviewed much of the information circulating about the issue and has found a number of inconstancies in the articles and e-mails now beginning to circulate in the fire and emergency services community.  The IAFC has reached out to a number of organizations who are working on this issue, including NFPA, the InterAgency Board (IAB), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), so that we may clarify some of the issues and concerns circulating in the community.   
 
Currently, we are aware of two opportunities for the fire and emergency services community to learn more and comment on the proposed revisions:
 
NIOSH is planning to conduct a public stakeholder meeting-open to all fire service members-on December 13, 2005, to "address concepts for standards for CBRN Closed-Circuit, Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), CBRN Powered, Air-Purifying Respirator, and a Multi-Function PAPR."  The one-day meeting will be held at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA. Registration is required.  More information can be found on the NIOSH Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/resources/pressrel/letters/lttr-121305.html
 
The draft NFPA standard revision is scheduled to be released for public comment on December 23 via the NFPA Web site, www.nfpa.org, with the comment period through March of 2006.
 
The IAFC will continue to work with involved parties to sort out fact from fiction and will continue to get verified information to our members for their use and appropriate action. Please check the IAFC Web site for updates, and please refer anyone who has questions on the issue to this article.