4 ms·

I'm a volunteer firefighter. I've wondered what my county's response would be if I borrowed one of our SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus) to wear to an

I'm a volunteer firefighter. I've wondered what my county's response would be if I borrowed one of our SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus) to wear to an anti-ICE demo or ICE observation incident. It's not a gas mask in the sense of this article, because as the name suggests it's an entirely self-contained air supply - it doesn't matter what is in the air at all. The one issue is that a single air bottle has a finite and not particularly long use time (if you're in good shape and don't panic, 20-30 minutes tops).

Aeolun 9mo ago
Do they refill with air? Or do you need concentrated oxygen or something?
- PaulDavisThe1st 9mo ago
  They are refilled with air at 4000 PSI. The bottles are heavy and large, so you cannot effectively carry around a spare.
- dghlsakjg 9mo ago
  Just air. Very similar to a scuba tank, but typically composite instead of aluminum. You wouldn’t want to be breathing anything enriched with oxygen in a fire.
embedding-shape 9mo ago
> I've wondered what my county's response would be if I borrowed one of our SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus) to wear to an anti-ICE demo or ICE observation incident Give it a try and see what happens? Get your friends and colleagues with you too! In Europe (at least France and Spain) we have firefighters participating in protests, some of them not so non-violent, and there been clashes between firefighters and police (so unexpected) in the past, most recently just ~a week ago: https://www.albawaba.com/news/firefighter-protest-lille-escalates-1621190 https://www.albawaba.com/news/firefighter-protest-lille-esca.... I guess there is many reasons AFAB isn't an acronym people usually spread, can't think of any time firefighters generally been against the people.
- PaulDavisThe1st 9mo ago
  When I joined, there an "orientation session" in which an existing firefighter said (paraphrasing): "there are lots of different attitudes towards the police, ranging from very positive to very negative, and I'm not going to get into that. But when firefighters show up, it's always the best part of whatever day anybody is having, and DO NOT FUCK THIS UP!" :)
  - mootothemax 9mo ago
    Oh that is beautiful :) For myself, it’s the feeling of: thank fuck; the grownups have arrived. shoulders lower, everyone takes a deep breath

Aeolun 9mo ago

Do they refill with air? Or do you need concentrated oxygen or something?

PaulDavisThe1st 9mo ago
They are refilled with air at 4000 PSI. The bottles are heavy and large, so you cannot effectively carry around a spare.
dghlsakjg 9mo ago
Just air. Very similar to a scuba tank, but typically composite instead of aluminum. You wouldn’t want to be breathing anything enriched with oxygen in a fire.

embedding-shape 9mo ago

> I've wondered what my county's response would be if I borrowed one of our SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus) to wear to an anti-ICE demo or ICE observation incident Give it a try and see what happens? Get your friends and colleagues with you too! In Europe (at least France and Spain) we have firefighters participating in protests, some of them not so non-violent, and there been clashes between firefighters and police (so unexpected) in the past, most recently just ~a week ago: https://www.albawaba.com/news/firefighter-protest-lille-escalates-1621190 https://www.albawaba.com/news/firefighter-protest-lille-esca.... I guess there is many reasons AFAB isn't an acronym people usually spread, can't think of any time firefighters generally been against the people.

PaulDavisThe1st 9mo ago
When I joined, there an "orientation session" in which an existing firefighter said (paraphrasing): "there are lots of different attitudes towards the police, ranging from very positive to very negative, and I'm not going to get into that. But when firefighters show up, it's always the best part of whatever day anybody is having, and DO NOT FUCK THIS UP!" :)
- mootothemax 9mo ago
  Oh that is beautiful :) For myself, it’s the feeling of: thank fuck; the grownups have arrived. shoulders lower, everyone takes a deep breath