By Wesley R. Attwood, Andrea Wilkinson, and Jay L. Tarley
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) recently released a series of fact sheets for firefighters to learn about best practices for SCBA use. The resources cover prevention actions and considerations from decades of FFFIPP line-of-duty death (LODD) and serious injury investigations.
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The three fact sheets highlight three themes:
- Understanding health risks and ensuring readiness
- Securing and removing an SCBA from service
- Notifying NIOSH of SCBA failures or issues.
Fire departments can use the information from these fact sheets to develop standard operating procedures or guidelines to support firefighter safety and health.
Download the fact sheets
Safe Use of SCBA for Firefighters
Firefighters rely on SCBA to provide a dependable air supply while working in immediately dangerous to life or health environments. However, SCBA use places significant demands on the body. Understanding these demands and proper use of SCBA allow firefighters to recognize early warning signs and address issues quickly.[1]
Securing an SCBA after Adverse Conditions, Serious Injury, or Line-of-Duty Death
When firefighters experience adverse conditions while using SCBA, it is critical to investigate possible causes. Adverse conditions include any issues that weaken SCBA protection, such as reduced performance, failures or near-failures. These can lead to LODD or serious injury. Securing an SCBA and removing it from service enables fire departments or other entities to inspect functionality, secure critical data, and establish a chain of custody as part of an investigation.[2]
Notifying NIOSH of SCBA Failure or Reduced Performance as a Standard Procedure
NIOSH is the federal agency responsible for evaluating and approving respirators used in U.S. workplace settings. Prompt reporting of SCBA failures or performance issues helps NIOSH identify problems early and prevent similar risks from affecting other firefighters or future equipment. Firefighters can contribute to safer SCBAs for the fire service nationwide by reporting failures and issues early to support faster investigations and effective corrective actions.[3]
About FFFIPP
In 1998, Congress funded and directed NIOSH to conduct firefighter fatality investigations.[4] NIOSH created FFFIPP with the goal of learning from firefighter LODDs and serious injuries to prevent similar incidents from happening again. This includes reporting characteristics and contributing factors to these incidents and providing educational materials that include prevention actions for the nation’s fire service.[5] FFFIPP investigations may include investigators from three separate components, each centering on one area of subject matter expertise: 1) trauma, 2) medical, and 3) personal protective equipment.[6] NIOSH is a non-regulatory research institute. As such, investigation participation is voluntary and results in prevention-focused, non-punitive, research-based reports. Reports are often used to inform training, standards development, and updated standard operating procedures or guidelines.
FFFIPP receives requests for LODD and serious injury investigations through NIOSH’s website. Firefighters and other interested parties can see what investigations FFFIPP is currently working on by visiting the ongoing reports web page.
Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
REFERENCES
[1] NIOSH [2026]. Safe use of safe use of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for firefighters. By Wilkinson A, Eisenberg J, Tyrawski J, Tarley J, Page F, Williams WJ, Attwood WR. Cincinnati, OH: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2026–104.
[2] NIOSH [2026]. Securing an SCBA after adverse conditions, serious injury, or line-of-duty death. By Attwood WR, Knuth R, Page F, Tarley JL, and Wilkinson A. Morgantown, WV: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2026–105.
[3] NIOSH [2026]. Notifying NIOSH of SCBA failure or reduced performance as a standard procedure. By Tarley JL, Cichowicz J, Page F, Attwood WR, and Ringer SJ. Pittsburgh, PA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2026–106.
[4] U.S. Senate [1997]. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies appropriation bill, 1998, 105 Congress, 1st Session. Washington, DC: U.S. Senate. U.S. Government Printing Office, Report 105-58.
[5] NIOSH [2026]. About the FFFIPP. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
[6] Attwood WR, Robinson T, Eisenberg J, and Tarley JL [2026]. Assessing outcomes: Learning from line-of-duty deaths and injuries. Fire Engineering, June 1.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Wesley R. Attwood, DrCJ, is the Senior Investigator with the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program’s Trauma team.
Andrea Wilkinson, MS, LAT, ATC, is a Health Scientist with the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program’s Medical team.
Jay L. Tarley, CFEI, is a Physical Scientist and Lead with the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program’s Personal Protective Equipment team.
