HOMEPAGE PERSONAL PROFILE HISTORICAL REVIEW HOWEBRIDGE MRS BOOTHSTOWN MRS PURPOSE OF A MRS MOBILE WINDING ENGINE AMPUTATION KIT OFFICERS AND STAFF SELECTION OF RESCUEMEN BREATHING APP PRIME FEATURES OF BA GENERAL CONDUCT OXYGEN RESUSCITATORS HEAT AND HUMIDITY RESCUE COMMS CANARIES AND LAMPS SELF RESCUERS SEFA BREATHING APPARATUS PROTO BREATHING APPARATUS AERORLOX BREATHING APPARATUS SALVUS BREATHING APPARATUS SAVOX BREATHING APPARATUS MINOX BREATHING APPARATUS ANTIPOYS TUBE APPARATUS

The Lancashire Mines Rescue Service PRIME FEATURES OF A BREATHING APPARATUS. Photograph on the left shows a team in Boothstown No. 1. Gallery dealing with a live patient on a stretcher in light smoke. Photograph on right shows a team composed of 5 Members of the Boothstown Permanent Corps, returning to the surface at Sutton Manor Colliery in 1955, after sucessfully extinguishing an open underground roadway fire. Left to right, they are Jerry Dawber; Ken Cook; Reg Evans; Martin Gormally, and Les Hampson. This was a rare event as usually, underground roadway fires would spread at a faster rate than the team could extinguish the flames, cool the area down and resupport the roof to follow the fire. In most cases, direct attack with water under pressure was abandoned and the whole district was sealed off with sandbag stoppings. Reopening of sealed off districts in this way after open fires, could usually be considered after a period of about 6 weeks. In both photographs, the Proto Apparatus is worn. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIME FEATURES OF A BREATHING APPARATUS. There have been many different types of self-contained breathing put forward by various manufacturers over the years. Some have been acceptable, but many more have failed to provide the essential requirements. These essentials can be briefly summarised as follows:- 1. – Absolute Reliability. 100 per cent reliability is paramount. The wearer should be confident that he will be supplied with an adequate amount of oxygen for the full duration of the wearing session, completely independent of the outside atmosphere and there should be no question of even the slightest malfunction. This degree of reliability can only be achieved after many hours of laboratory testing and hundreds of man-hours spent actually wearing the apparatus in the training galleries and in the underground workings of a mine. 2. – Robust Construction. No matter how careful the wearer is in protecting his apparatus, it will undoubtedly suffer many knocks and bangs during a 2-hour wearing spell in the limited confines of underground conditions. For this reason, in each case, the sets were designed to withstand a certain amount of rough usage without suffering damage. When a rescue team is dealing with a casualty in irrespirable air, the focus of the team must be on the welfare of the casualty and not, unduly on the physical protection of his apparatus. 3 – Low Inspired Air Temperature. With a closed circuit type of apparatus, dry, cool, inspired air is desirable but very difficult to achieve. The chemical reaction within the CO2 absorbent, generates heat and some of this is, picked up by the inspired ‘air’. Coolant devices were always built into the designs, but for all practical purposes were generally, not very efficient (except the 'SEFA' Apparatus, described elsewhere). 4 – Low Resistance To Breathing. Low resistance is desirable but again, difficult to achieve. The inspired ‘air’, by the wearer’s own lung efforts, has to be drawn through breathing tubes; inhale and exhale valves; absorbent and coolant canisters. Each of these component parts, oppose the smooth flow of ‘air’ through the apparatus and therefore increases the resistance to breathing. 5 - Ease Of Use and General Comfort. The apparatus should be easy to use with all parts, conveniently positioned. It should rest easily on the body with the weight evenly distributed. The apparatus should be comfortable and provide ease of movement without the constant need for re-adjustment. This was not usually a problem. 6 –Simplicity In Design. The design should be as simple as possible. The fewer the moving parts the better. Complicated, intricate mechanisms are more likely to malfunction. Many types of apparatus have failed the Official Approval Tests because of complex design features. 7 – Ease Of Maintenance. There should be no difficulties in maintenance. Quick re-cycling of the apparatus during emergencies, was vital. In it’s infancy, the Mines Rescue Service was fortunate to have the interest of Professor J. S. Haldane, whose services to mining science in general has proved to be of inestimable value. From the early days he was particularly interested in breathing apparatus and was very forthright in his opinions of the various types available and where it was warranted, he was critically severe. After World War I, Haldane continued his work and in 1920, established the testing of breathing apparatus on a National Scale at the Doncaster Rescue Station in Yorkshire. He made up his own rules as to the relative merits of breathing apparatus, which were accepted as the criteria for the Testing and Certification of all new Open Circuit and Closed Circuit types. In 1974, the testing of both types were reviewed and a Testing Memorandum was produced. The details are defined in the British Standard 2667, Parts 1. and T.M.3. – “Certification Of Breathing Apparatus”. Doncaster Rescue Station continued to test the closed circuit types and in that same year, Boothstown Rescue Station was accredited as the Government Test Centre for new, open circuit types of apparatus. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------