Specialist hoods to protect people from toxic smoke as they are rescued from burning buildings have been introduced by the London Fire Brigade.
The lightweight hoods provide up to 15 minutes’ protection and could drastically reduce the number who are overcome by fumes, saving more lives.
The LFB and Kent Fire and Rescue Service are the first in Britain to employ them. They block out four deadly gases — carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride and acrolein — and will be used in incidents where fire crews need to wear breathing apparatus.
A filter using the chemical compound hopcalite, similar to those that can be found in firefighters’ breathing apparatus, purifies the air. This allows oxygen to be taken in while the filter system blocks out the most harmful fumes.
The LFB spent about £90,000 to buy 650 hoods from German manufacturer Drager. They will be carried by crews from 102 fire stations over the next few months.
The equipment was bought with money from a £6 million fund set aside by Mayor Sadiq Khan to invest in firefighting after the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Assistant commissioner Richard Mills said: “Without a shadow of a doubt this will help the public and prevent them absorbing the gases and improve our chances of saving lives.
"We’ve been working hard with Kent Fire and Rescue to develop this. These hoods are single-use and will be carried on all fire engines, rescue vehicles and aerial units.”
Smoke inhalation is the leading cause of death in fires. It has been reported it causes between an estimated 50 and 80 per cent of fire deaths.
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Fire crews in the capital are called to an average of 161 incidents a year where breathing apparatus is needed, based on recent figures from 2012-2017. The LFB hopes the Fire Brigades Union will adopt the hoods across the country.
Gareth Beeton, London regional chairman of the FBU, said: “Fire escape hoods will, for the first time, enable London firefighters to rescue people from fires whose escape route is blocked by an unbreathable atmosphere.”
I don’t think twice to put it on
Smoke is pouring through the bottom of the door when the shouting and banging starts.
Two firefighters open it and the small room is filled with thick, white smoke. We need to get out.
I am sitting in the “smoke house” at Hayes fire station for a drill where crew members train amid thick plumes of artificial smoke.
When a firefighter produces a fluorescent hood from a pouch on his belt and tells me to put it on “like a Halloween mask”, I do not think twice.
The mask creates a vacuum over the nose and mouth that protects from killer gases for 15 minutes. As I am led outside the room into a series of narrow hallways the visibility is almost zero.
Without the mask, the short stumble to safety could have fatal consequences but with it fixed to my face, the light at the end of the tunnel just leads to fresh air.
