Scott Safety, a household name among the fire service with regard to SCBA equipment, announced the introduction of three new products to its 2013 line-up at FDIC this year. Much of the focus when developing the products was centered on the fact that in August, major changes will take effect due to the onset of new versions of NFPA 1981 and 1982. “We saw [the changes to these standards] coming,” says Jeff Emery, global marketing manager for fire services, “and it gave us the chance to put our engineers to work to exceed those standards.”
Changes & Standards: A Brief Explanation
The changes in the Scott Safety products involve three key areas that significantly affect SCBA and SCBA components’ quality and efficiency: noise reduction, weight reduction and voice intelligibility. “The NFPA standards are changing this year after six years” Emery explains. “The 1981 standard defines what the functionality is for the SCBA. The 1982 standard [involves] PASS alarms; it’s become a more stringent standard.”
The changes in the standards involve new facepiece durability testing, a new communications testing protocol, a new set point for low-air alarms, as well as the implementation of a new universal PASS sound, “so people’s ears are trained to listen for one sound,” Emery says.
Changing Products
The three new products being introduced by Scott are:
- The AV3000 HT facepiece
- The Epic 3 voice amplifier
- The Air-Pak X3 SCBA, the newest member of the Air-Pak family.
The AV3000 Facepiece
The AV3000 facepiece features a SureDeal faceseal as well as a larger landing surface. “It will keep a good seal with a little bit of movement,” Emery explains. As with the other two new products, the AV3000 was designed to withstand the conditions brought about by today’s more intense, hotter-burning, faster-burning fires. To demonstrate this capability, Scott Safety allowed firefighters to “test drive” the new products during FDIC’s H.O.T. sessions. “The difference was like night and day,” Emery says of the facepiece’s performance. “There was no falling out of service, no cracking or bubbling.”
The Epic 3 voice amplifier
Scott also redesigned the nose cup, the mechanical communications and the digital communications through its angled speaker system designed to project the user’s voice louder and more clearly than current systems on the market. “For digital communications, we have a product called Epic Amp,” Emery explains, “so you’re not going to get that ‘tinny’ voice. The technology also automatically adjusts so it avoids any feedback, and the battery life has been increased from 30 to 50 hours.”
The Air-Pak X3 SCBA
Myriad key elements went into the new X3. The engineers at Scott worked to design the X3 with firefighter comfort in mind, but Emery is quick to point out that they didn’t approach their current model with a “what’s wrong with this” frame of mind. “One thing that’s important to understand is that [we approached this product by asking ourselves] what are we doing right?” Emery says.
They then completely redesigned the back frame to get the geometry just right. “You’re doing a lot of reaching,” Emery says, “so we added some articulation in the shoulder area.”
Next, they added an external heads-up display, changed the positioning of the buddy lights to remove former blind spots and other features, such as:
- An integrated a proprietary mesh network that provides a more effective way for command to check firefighter status;
- Hidden hoses and wires for a streamlined design;
- A cylinder retention band that shapes to the size of the bottle;
- A “snap change” cylinder connection (optional)
Approved & Ready to Go
Scott Safety (FDIC booth #2223) feels strongly that the company remains true to form when developing exceptional, highly trusted SCBA and SCBA components–and their response to the changes in each standard proves their continued dedication to the fire service. “Our technology separates us from the rest,” notes Luka Lojk, senior director of global marketing for Scott.
The deadline to ship 2007 products is August 30, 2013; Emery says his products are approved and ready to go, and they can begin taking orders for upgrades from existing customers.
