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Operations Level

BASIC AIR MONITORING

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Give the operations level engine company:

1. An understanding of basic gas behavior. This facilitates proper monitoring and accurate detection.

2. A basic understanding of the operation of meters and what they will and won’t do for you. MOVE SLOWLY!!

3. Examples where blind metering or lack of information will not yield good outcomes. Your meters are not foolproof.

Always, Always, ALWAYS be suspicious and willing to upgrade the alarm.

Goals

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• Understanding Molecular Weight allows crews to determine where specific gases will be located.

• Know where the gases your meter reads will be located (low, mid or high) to facilitate effective search techniques.

MOVE SLOWLY!!

Gas Behavior

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Molecular Weight (MW)- Sum of the weights of the elements that make up the gas. This is important because the weight of a gas in comparison to air will determine its behavior.

• The MW of Air is 29. Any gas heavier than Air(29) will sink in air. A lighter gas will rise.

• The MW of Natural Gas (CH4) is 16. It will rise. Monitoring for this gas will require monitoring at the highest point in the room/structure.

• The MW of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is 34. It will sink. To detect this gas will require monitoring at the lowest point e.g. floor/subfloor/basement.

• The MW of Carbon Monoxide (CO) is 28. It is essentially the same weight as air and will be present midlevel in the space to be monitored.

The next slide illustrates this relationship

Gas Behavior

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Gas Behavior

CH4=16

Air=29CO=28

H2S=34

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1. What is the Molecular Weight (MW) of air?a. 49

b. 29 (Answer)

c. 19

d. 35

Quiz

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2. Which of the following gasses will rise?a. Hydrogen Sulfide

b. Carbon Monoxide

c. Natural Gas (Answer)

d. Phosphine

Quiz

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3. A gas has a MW of 57. Where will you expect to find it?a. At the ceiling

b. At the floor (Answer)

Quiz

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• How do they draw samples?

• Oxygen displacement. What if there is something my meter cannot read?

• Tips on how to be more effective when you are metering.

Meter Basics and Tips

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Meters draw gas samples in two ways:• With a pump

• Passively (by diffusion)

If you have a passive meter you will have significant lag times (30-90 seconds). We will discuss this more in Metering Techniques.

If your meter has a pump the lag time is based on the strength of the pump and the length of the draw. Stronger pumps will have shorter lag times. All meters with pumps should give accurate readings in 5-30 seconds.

Meter Basics

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O2 is one fifth or 20% of the total volume of air.

.1% change in O2 levels = 5,000 PPM

1% change in O2 levels = 50,000 PPM

Why is this important?

If you see ANY change in O2 levels it means that there is SOMETHING displacing oxygen. That SOMETHING may not be detectable by your meter. If you see a .1% drop in O2 levels that means that there is 5,000 PPM of SOMETHING. The IDLH of many gases is below 5,000 PPM.

THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT FINDING AND SHOULD PROMPT ACTION. (EXIT STRUCTURE AND UPGRADE THE ALARM)

Oxygen Displacement

Nitrogen and other gases=80%

Oxygen=20%

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1. Air is comprised of approximately ___ % oxygen?a. 49

b. 29

c. 20 (Answer)

d. 35

Quiz

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2. What are the two ways meters sample?a. intakes and impellers

b. pumps and hoses

c. pumps and passively (Answer)

Quiz

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3. The O2 reading on your meter moves from 20.9% to 20.5%. Is that a concern?a. No

b. Yes (Answer)

Quiz

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Ensure your meter is properly calibrated and bumped before use.

• If on startup your meter is not reading zeros and 20.9% for oxygen don’t use it.

• ALWAYS start the meter in a fresh air environment. Preferably before you arrive at the call.

Consider chemical properties:

• How does the gas I’m expecting to find behave?

• Will it rise or sink?

• Do I really know what I’m looking for? Be suspicious!!

Conduct a systematic area scan to ensure you cover all areas

If possible, bring multiple meters to confirm readings

Consider wind, temperature, electronic interference. These things will affect how the gas will behave and how your meter will behave.

MOVE SLOWLY !!

Metering Tips

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• Never assume that only one hazard is present

• Be aware of secondary dangers

• Meters are fragile, temperamental devices that can and frequently do break

• Don’t place too much confidence in any meter

• Be conservative

• Always use one meter to confirm another

• Don’t trust a meter that you are not familiar with or that hasn’t been properly calibrated and bumped before use

• Move slowly while metering. If you move faster than your meter is sampling you will get alarms in an area that is not where the problem is located.

HAVE I MENTIONED MOVE SLOWLY !!

Metering Tips

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Add video of Webb and Jansson monitoring from the end of the Microdock video on the disc.

Metering Demonstration

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• The goal of the following scenarios is to get you thinking about the limits of meters.

• There can be other circumstances that make detection of the hazard difficult.

• This could happen in our jurisdictions!!

• There are additional videos and Word documents that provide more information.

Scenarios

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Your engine company responds to a 2 story with a daylight basement home for a CO alarm. Upon arrival you meet the family and they state they don’t know what the source could be. While surveying the home your meter alarms for CO. The home has gas appliances. You request PSE to check for natural gas leaks. PSE finds none. Your crew ventilates the home and the CO readings are zero.

Your engine company is dispatched later in the day to the same address for the same issue.

WHAT ARE YOUR ACTIONS?

Scenario 1

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The outcome of this call is that 2 children died of Phosphine gas poisoning. The family had an exterminator out earlier to treat their property for voles. The exterminator misapplied Fumatoxin resulting in Phosphine gas seeping into the residence.

Phosphine has a cross-sensitivity with CO detectors of all kinds. This led responding crews to think they had a CO issue. It wasn’t until the family became sick that FD officials ordered the family out of the home. It was too late for the two youngest girls.

To learn more about the incident see the attached word document.

Scenario 1 Follow-up

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It is 0235. Your company is dispatched to a residential CO alarm activation. Upon arrival at the dispatched address there are people outside and several neighbors as well. You paid attention to the Air Monitoring RTO and started your meter in fresh air before arrival. When you exit the rig you are getting readings of 85 PPM. As you enter the home the readings are 300-400 PPM. The neighbors are asking you to investigate their homes as well. As you investigate you find similar CO readings.

WHAT ARE YOUR ACTIONS?

Scenario 2

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CO readings of 85 PPM outside when you exit the rig should concern you.

Your crew should be on air anywhere that your CO alarm is sounding.

A HM team, additional units and PSE should be requested if not enroute.

Evacuate all residents to fresh air, not just outside since the outside readings are 85 ppm!!

The rest of the story…underground electrical lines were burning under the street creating massive amounts of CO.

Scenario 2 Follow-up

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1530 on a Tuesday. Your engine company is dispatched to a McDonald’s Fast Food Restaurant for a syncope. Upon arrival you find a 20’s YO female employee collapsed on the stairs into the basement of the restaurant. Co-workers tell you that she is 6 months pregnant. They have no idea what happened or why she is feeling ill. During your exam of the woman two of your crew state they are not feeling well.

WHAT ARE YOUR ACTIONS?

Scenario 3

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This is a case that happened in Phoenix June 2011.There have also been many other similar incidents across the country. The employee's syncopal episode was the result of a CO2 leak in the basement from a dewar feeding the soda fountain system. The restaurant was equipped with a CO2 monitor that failed to alarm. Two FF were overcome and sickened.

CO2 is heavier than air and will displace oxygen. This is a potentially fatal scenario. There were no alarms and the dispatch would lead a crew to believe you are dealing with a syncopal pregnant female (not uncommon).

Be aware that there may be other factors. Be prepared to protect yourself. Call a HM team if there are suspicious circumstances, go on air and meter. At this call you would see a drop in O2 levels telling you that something is displacing oxygen. That is good information to relay to an incoming HM team.

There is more information on CO2 in the attached word documents for your review. To view the Phoenix After Action Video follow this link: Phoenix CO2

Scenario 3 Follow-up