The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has issued a request for information (RFI) regarding respiratory protection for wildland firefighters.
The effort coincides with a market survey executed by S&T’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) in collaboration with the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
“Wildland firefighters risk their lives to fire, but in many cases, they are also risking their lungs to short- and long-term health consequences,” Hasan Shahid, NUSTL test engineer. “The respiratory protection used by structural firefighters is not suitable to a remote wildland firefighting environment. For example, self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) are impractical due to their large size and the need to have additional tanks nearby to swap out.”
The labs are interested in air-purifying respirators (APRs) and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) possessing the capability to guard against gasses and particulates experienced during wildland fires.
The APR or PAPR must be readily available to emergency responder groups as a commercial or government-issued device, accept gas filters or filtering cartridges, guard against particulates, and be easily transported in or on load-carrying equipment.
A deadline of 4 p.m. EST on Feb. 28, 2022, has been established for applicants interested in submitting products.