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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 2756.PDF
FLIGHT NOVEMBER 2OTH, 1941. FIRE RESCUE Reassuring Experiment with Asbestos Suit: Effects of Working Among Flames : Suitable Men are Carefully Trained O mistakes, no accidents," appears to have beenestablished as the guiding principle in the use of the asbestos fire rescue equipment which has beensupplied to the Royal Air Force over a number of years, and is now being issued to the Fleet Air Arm. Thereis no record of a mishap having occurred to a wearer who properly carried out instructions, and the result is a con-fidence which enables the best possible work to be done under even the most serious and alarming conditions. Eachsuit is a two-piece. When flying is in progress at an air- drome or from an aircraft carrier, two of the men detailedfor rescue duty wear the lower portion. In the event of a crash, they quickly slip on the top portion and are readyfor rescue work should a fire break out.. One experiment to prove the fire-resisting qualities of thistype of suit—and certainly one to inspire confidence—was the setting alight of the skeleton of an aircraft with a manwearing the equipment seated in the cockpit. He remained there for four minutes, until the flames subsided. Theheat reached 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and the man suffered no ill-effects. But in spite of the proved value of the equipment, thehuman element plays an important part, and the endurance of which each individual is capable, and his reactions, arelimiting factors. The Services are careful in the selection of men, and the method of training is of vital importance.Steadiness in emergency, initiative, neatness in working, activity of body, courage and physical strength areessentials. How It Feels The first sensation a man feels when working in actualfire is of a slight warmth through the visor. He then gets warmer generally, and exertion quickens the breathing. Ifflames are lapping him, his legs will feel really warm, and difficulty in breathing or excessive heat at any point aresignals to come out. Stooping or bending produces a rush of air into the helmet and " roaring " in the ears, but thismust occasion no alarm and the trained man is ready for it. A R.A.F. fire fighter has his asbestos suit adjusted. Menhave been known to remain in a fire for four minutes. *?*re fighters °* l^e R'A.F. going intoa fire during a demonstration. The greatest heat is produced when aman remains stationary with the flames playing continuously on one ormore parts of the suit, but slight move- ment will minimise this discomfort. Training methods may vary,although it is essential that no detail be overlooked to ensure the intelligentuse of the equipment. Bell's Asbestos and Engineering Limited, who aresupplying the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm with these suits, have avery thorough method, designed to obtain utmost proficiency, and toafford every protection to the wearer. First of all the man is impressed thathe is undergoing no endurance com- petition, and as an introduction heuses the suit without approaching fire. After sitting with the vent shut forfive minutes he does simple physical exercises, such as touching the toes orknees, raising the arms and legs alter- nately. He then walks to a given spotand back, not necessarily in a straight line. He uses a hack saw on a smallpipe, he saws a piece of wood, screws up and loosens a nut, screws a tap to a pipe, makes fast a wire rope witha shackle and screwed pin, and manipulates a pump. Any of these tasks he may well be called upon to per-form under fire conditions on an airdrome or elsewhere, and no detail is overlooked. He negotiates such obstacles asbeams, ropes, wires and boxes at the walk or slow run, he carries a sand bag and makes mechanical adjustments whilein a stooping position. All these tests are timed and developed slowly, and the man's suitability is partly deter-mined by his temperature, pulse, blood pressure and re- spiration before and after each test. After a man has done similar work in a fire, pulse ratesup to 180 and temperature up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit have been recorded. The '' baptism '' comes after the abovehave been satisfactorily concluded. A pile of easily combustible material, usually wood woolsprinkled liberally with petrol, is ignited, and the man enters. He does no work, but gains confidence in the pro-tection afforded him by the equipment. Elaborate safety precautions are observed, and they have not yet failed. The equipment, too, has not failed when used undersevere conditions in the Services, which is as much a tri- bute to the fire-fighting personnel as to the asbestos. In-telligent use is, of course, an important factor.
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