SPECIFICATIONS FOR RESPIRATORY PPE

SPECIFICATION FOR BREATHING APPARATUS

1. Requirement:

Positive pressure open circuit compressed air self-contained BA set with an extra mask (Rescue hood) having a safe working duration of at least 35 minutes and 10 minutes safety margin. It should have approval from BS/EN 136, 137, 139/93 or ISO 9001 and should bear the mark of relevant specification. The set should operate efficiently in a variety of harsh environment and capable of withstanding rough uses of fire brigade i.e. hot, cold, wet, humid, cramped and zero visibility and must be simple to wear. The weight and ergonomics of the set, when fitted with ancillary equipment should be so designed that it is spread over the frame of the human skeleton, and not to cause physical damage to the wearer and is comfortable. Design of set should allow for safe accessible stowage in appliance crew cabs or lockers. It should be as compact as possible with no sharp edges, burrs or protruding parts likely to be caught on projections and narrow passages. The apparatus shall continue to function satisfactorily after being submerged into the water to a maximum depth of one meter.

The total weight of set with filled cylinder should not exceed 12 kg.

2. Breathing Apparatus Cylinder:

The seamless super light cylinder of adequate water capacity for the 45-minute duration at filling pressure not exceeding 300 bar duly hydro-tested to 1.5 times of filling pressure, (must bear ISO/BS/DIN/NIOSH/EN mark on the body of the cylinder). Should have test certificate from authorized test station of the country from where it has been imported/ manufactured. It must have approval from CCE, Nagpur and should be painted as per latest cylinder rules. The cylinder should be marked with the photoluminescent strip in which a way that when the set is assembled it is visible from the backside to trace/ follow the BA wearer in the smoke-filled compartment. Cylinders manufactured for more than one year shall not be acceptable.

3. Cylinder Valve:

The cylinder valve should be both hand operated, perpendicular to the cylinder but should not protrude beyond cylinder width, having a safety device to prevent accidental closure of the valve. The design of valve should be such that in case of the spindle is broken it can be repaired when cylinder Is full. Cylinder valve should bear the mark of the relevant specification and should have the approval of BS/EN/DIN/NIOSH. A test certificate from authorized test lab & approval of CCE, Nagpur should also be supplied. The valve assembly must include an anti-debris tube for preventing the debris flowing from the cylinder to air circuit and should also have a universal coupling for connecting different type of sets and air compressor. A blank cap should be provided to protect cylinder valve threads.

4. Pressure Reducer:

Compact designed should reduce the cylinder pressure unto 7 to 10 bars to meet the design requirement of demand valve and should maintain the same reduced pressure even with decreasing cylinder pressure. It should have built in pressure relief valve, designed to prevent excess pressure in the low pressure circuit and also safety device to restrict the flow in high pressure circuit in case of failure/ damage of high pressure hose. The pressure reducer also contains the suitable filter for filtering out particles unto size of 20 Microns or greater.

5. Second-Man Attachment:

Provision for second man/ airline attachment should be provided. The design should be such that through same connection air from another BA wearer can be fed and also the second face mask could be used. Coupling used should be quick release type. Suitable hose connection to feed air from one BA set to another BA set should be provided.

6. Integrated Control Unit:

Water proof pressure gauge having luminous dial reading up to 400 bars should be positioned in such a way that it can be read by BA wearer conveniently. It should be mounted in stainless steel case having corrosion resistance and protected by rubber cover. Gauge dial should be photo luminescent and shatter proof polycarbonate glass. It should be mounted on left shoulder. The dial must be marked red to indicate low pressure in the cylinder, in addition to warning whistle set to operate at a pressure when it is left with a 10 minutes air in the cylinder. It should be protected by safety device including restriction valve that will limit the loss of air in event of damage of pressure gauge to 10 liters/ minute maximum. The system incorporates a gauge to monitor the following:

a) Pressure

b) Temperature

c) Remaining service time

d) Battery capacity

e) Motion sensor which gives alarm if the user is motion less

f) Alarm at low cylinder pressure

7. Low-Pressure Warning Whistle:

BA set must be provided with low pressure warning whistle, which shall operate automatically, when cylinder pressure drops to a predetermined pressure (i.e. air in the cylinder is left for 10 minutes at the rate of 40 liters/ minute) for safety margins. It should not be externally adjustable, and the consumption air by warning whistle should not exceed 5 liters/ minute. It should be positioned at left shoulder for easy hearing and should not produce sound less that 90 db.

8. Hoses:

Hoses should be impact resistant and flame resistant stainless steel braided over hydra covered hose and fitted with suitable coupling, or manufactured with suitable material to withstand desired operational objective.

9. Demand Valve:

The valve should have compact design, low profile, automatic positive pressure, operable with first breath/ quick fitting coupling when fixed with supply to wearer on demand to perform various nature of hard/ strenuous job during fire fighting, rescue etc. in smoke/ toxic, hot, humid and hazardous atmosphere. It should be quiet in operation to prevent disturbance during communication between BA wearers. It should also have a provision of bye-pass valve to provide extra air in case wearer demands and should be totally independent from demand valve functioning (EN-137). It should continue to function satisfactorily after being submerged in water to a maximum depth of one meter, once worn by BA wearer. The provision of shut off button on demand valve assembly should also be made for stopping air flow in face mask, which should be capable of de-activating on next breath. The coupling should be of quick release mechanism type to unplugged demand valve from the mask connector.

10. Full Face Mask:

The mask must be made from silicon or EP DM – rubber. It should be pan-seal including optically correct and with full view replaceable visor made from poly-carbonate having resistance to chemicals and shock and should be anti scratch. The inner mask should allow the air to pass across the visor to keep it free from condensation and should reduce the dead space within the face-mask to prevent accumulation of carbon-di-oxide to uncomfortable level. Speech diaphragm for effective communication should be provided. A safety device should be incorporated in the exhalation valve to release excess pressure in the face mask than the design positive pressure. It should be provided with suitable strap with locking for easy donning the face mask. Strap made of fire retardant material should also be provided. It should have double reflex sealing and quick fitting plug-in connection for demand valve. This mask should bear mark of relevant specification.

For preventing the deterioration of face-mask from the effect of ultra violet light and also dust etc., a suitable black bag shall be provided with each face mask. Special adjustable rubber straps allow attaching the mask to the helmet quickly and securely, without need to take off the helmet. Similarly, the mask can be comfortably detached from the helmet if there is no longer a need for respiratory protection during work.

11. Extra Mask:

Extra Mask (Rescue Hood) should be made of flame retardant material ideally suited for rescue work. The hood places over the head of the person to be rescued. There should be facility to supply the air by the second connection to the rescue worker self contained breathing apparatus. There should be a constant airflow of about 50 liters per minute is provided with a medium pressure of 7 bar from the feed line.

12. Harness:

The harness should be fire resistance, should not deteriorate or shrink in contact with water/ moisture/ water miscible substances or on contact with oil grease etc., and also provide resistance to chemicals, it neither should build up static electricity nor should retain a static charge. It should be fully adjustable to be worn by a fireman having variation in height and waist size. The design should be such that wearer could don the apparatus quickly without the aid of another including the chest strap, if provided should be easily distinguishable by touch. The method of fastening should be of similar and also the adjustment. The buckles provided should be quick release type. The lightweight webbing harness ensures optimal load distribution, balance, comfort and reduced wearer fatigue.

13. Back Plate:

Adjustable back plate with an innovative foldable protective foot made of composite material/ lightweight carbon fiber, ergonomically and ribbed design covered with flame retardant anti-slip neoprene to prevent the possibility of incurring radiant heat burn through the direct contact with metal and should give maximum safety to the wearer in all the difficult situations such as, rough working conditions during fire fighting operations, cold, hot, wet/ humid and cramped atmosphere. The back plate should be designed to carry the different diameters of BA cylinders. The strap should have quick release coupling for changing cylinder. Backplate also includes the strong carrying handle.

14. Carrying Case:

a) A strong carrying case to store complete assembled BA set along with BA cylinder should be provided. It should be designed in such a way that all parts of the assembled set could be placed in its proper position.

b) A black colour plastic bag to avoid deterioration due to the effect of ultra violet light and also to prevent mask being contaminated by oil, fuel, dust etc. It will be used to cover the face mask and then store it in the carrying case.

15. Test Clauses:

Type of Test:

Any set of breathing apparatus offered in fulfillment of this specification should pass satisfactorily the following test as are relevant to the class of apparatus offered. It is intended that these tests should be made at the manufacturers’/ suppliers works or fire brigade or elsewhere, to be arranged by manufacturer/ suppliers at their own cost.

16. Test Details: A. Performance:

Two tests with each of two identical sets to ensure that the apparatus causes no undue discomfort to the average wearer for the full period of 30 minutes. Each test should be carried out by a different wearer. For these tests each wearer will walk at a regular rate 6.4 km / hour on level ground and also at a higher speed to check the performance of demand valve.

B. Low Cylinder Pressure Warning Device:

Tests to check that the warning device complies with the requirements laid down in EN specifications.

C. Demand Valve:

Tests to check fulfillment of the requirements laid down in the EN specifications.

D. Approval:

The approval from any of the approved tests houses like DIN/BS/NIOSH/EN – shall/ will be essential.

E. CO2 Test:

To check that CO2 proportion of inspired air does not exceed 2%. Samples to be taken as near to the mouth as possible at 10 minutes interval during the performance test as laid down in EN specification.

F. Temperature:

Test to check that during the performance test, the temperature of the inspired air does not exceed 20°C above the ambient temperature of the atmosphere in which the apparatus is worn and reading to be taken at the 10 minutes intervals.

G. Tests of Acceptance:

a) Acceptance test should include a performance test, leakage test, flow test, safety devices functional test, low pressure warning test.

b) 22915 The apparatus shall continue to function satisfactorily after being submerged in water to a maximum depth of one meter.

17. Workmanship And Finish:

It is essential that the standard of workmanship and finish of all parts is such that replacement parts can be supplied and that they will fit correctly and without difficulty. Exposed metal parts would have a finish which can be kept up without the use of metal polish or any other special preparation.

18. Tools:

Tools necessary for routine testing and servicing must be provided with each set along with one kit of consumable spares.

19. Instruction Book:

An instruction book in English, for the guidance of the user including both operating and normal maintenance procedure must be supplied. The book must include an itemized and illustrated spare parts list, giving reference numbers to all parts.

20. Training:

The supplier shall provide training to selected staff/ Officer for operation and maintenance of BA set.

21. Spares:

Supplier shall ensure availability and supply of fast moving spares at short notice for at least five years. The supplier shall provide a price list of such spares along with the commercial bid.