They say timing is everything and this situation could probably not get much more ironic.
Last week the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health concluded its testing of two DeKalb County Ga., SCBA units that reportedly failed. Both units passed the tests.
That same week, a DeKalb firefighter sustained cuts and smoke inhalation when he bailed out of second-story window because his SCBA failed.
At issue is several reported failures of the Draeger model PSS 7000 4,500 psig SCBA in Georgia, Arizona and Alaska. The fire departments maintain that the failures are design-based and blame Draeger. Draeger maintains that the failures are due to a lack of proper maintenance.
The results from the two units NIOSH tested seem to bear out Draeger’s claim. NIOSH conducted five tests to its standards and one NFPA test. Those tests measured positive pressure, rated service time, static pressure, gas flow and exhalation resistance; the NFPA test measured airflow performance.
The SCBA units passed all of the NIOSH tests but failed the NFPA airflow performance test. NIOSH reports that the exhalation valves on both facepieces had significant dirt. When the second unit was cleaned and retested, it passed.
On its initial inspection, NIOSH also reported that the O-rings that seal the regulators to the facepieces appeared dry and without lubrication. NIOSH said that other than normal wear and tear, the units were in good condition.
In a statement released in May, Draeger said, “Concerning the issues reported in DeKalb County (Georgia), we have attempted to replicate the alleged instances of product malfunction by DeKalb firefighters but could not. Technicians analyzed our equipment but could find nothing wrong with its engineering or design.
“The only conclusion we can draw is that the reports of product malfunction in DeKalb County stem from improper product maintenance and care.”
Draeger officials pointed specifically to a failure to lubricate the O-ring as the cause of the problems in Phoenix. Phoenix dropped its $3.3 million contract with Draeger at nearly the same time NIOSH was conducting its tests on the DeKalb units.
“It is regrettable that our slower than desired customer service has led the department to seek other manufacturers. However, we do not believe and fiercely defend against any allegation that the decision was based on the belief that our products are unsafe,” Draeger administrators told the Arizona Republic in June.
But firefighters who experienced problems with the Draeger SCBA were unconvinced by the company’s claim that the problems were due to user error.
“You can only have so many operator errors with the firefighters in the field before they take offense to that,” Phoenix Firefighter Steve Beuerlein told the Arizona Republic. “That’s when we really tightened up the documentation system.”
Phoenix documented 120 SCBA failures out of the 808 units it has in service. The problems were broke regulators; in many cases the regulator has separated from the facepiece.
“We are pleased but not surprised by the results of the NIOSH investigation,” said Tim Martin, Draeger’s vice president sales and service, in a prepared statement. “We take our responsibilities to the firefighters we protect with the utmost seriousness. We would never do anything to put firefighters and other first responders in harm’s way.
“As we said from the beginning of this process last February, we carefully looked into every reported incident of alleged product malfunction and could find no defects with our equipment design. What we did find was evidence of improper product use and maintenance, and we communicated this to the department and offered to re-train them on such procedures. Now NIOSH has confirmed that our internal analysis was indeed correct.”
Draeger says it supplies SCBA units to more than 1,500 fire departments in the United States.
Whether this NIOSH examination of two units is enough to alleviate firefighters’ worries remains to be seen.