By Patrick M. O'Connell
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS — After repeated calls to replace air masks blamed for the deaths of two firefighters in 2002, the St. Louis Fire Department is buying new gear that should be in use by summer's end.

The department got a green light last week to buy 375 new self-contained breathing apparatus, the mask-and-backpack devices firefighters use to survive in smoke and toxic gases.

The gear may come by next month, once the department decides on a vendor, said Chief Dennis Jenkerson. Each position on the firetrucks gets a new backpack, which includes an air tank, personal distress alarm and communication equipment. Each firefighter will get his or her own face mask to use with it.

The cost will be $3,000 to $4,500 per set. The Board of Alderman's Public Safety Committee authorized expenditure of a little more than $3.7 million for the breathing equipment, an air compressor to refill it and 10 replacement ambulances.

"I can't even tell you how pleased we are to move forward with this," Jenkerson said.

Firefighters Derek Martin and Robert Morrison, both 38, of Rescue Squad 1, died May 3, 2002, fighting a stubborn fire at a small commercial building in the 2200 block of Gravois Avenue.

In September 2007, a jury held the maker of the breathing equipment Martin was wearing, Survivair, at fault for his death. Martin's family was awarded $12 million. The company settled an earlier lawsuit with Morrison's wife for a reported $1 million to $5 million.

At issue were a faulty valve on Martin's air mask and the reported failure of Morrison's personal distress alarm. Martin died trying to save Morrison.

Jenkerson said the deaths played a role in motivating the department to change equipment but were not the only factor. The department has been using the same gear for about 10 years, and other firefighters reported troubles with the distress devices.

Survivair, part of a French company, is one of four manufacturers whose products are being considered, said Capt. Bob Keuss, the department spokesman.

The gear will meet the new standards of the National Fire Protection Association, Jenkerson said.

City firefighters have been testing different brands of equipment for more than two years, and their feedback will be considered, the chief said.

Regardless of brand, he said, the department will have better-fitting masks, more reliable technology and improved safety features, which will lead to increased firefighter confidence.

"We're trying to provide them with the best pieces of equipment that we can give them," Jenkerson said. "When you have good equipment, you have more confidence. When firefighters are confident in their equipment, they don't have to be worrying and they are able to rescue people faster and fight fires quicker."

Copyright 2008, St. Louis Post-Dispatch