27 October 2014

Firefighters' rescue masks - updated


From France "between the mid-1800s and World War I."

I see adapters designed to fit onto some type of tubing, presumably leading either to fresh (?compressed) air since an oxygen source would have been exponentially risker to a firefighter.  

Via Not In The History Books. 

Addendum:  A tip of the blogging hat to reader Aleksejs, for sending me a link to the Firefighting Museum in Riga, Latvia and to this photo of a complete similar-type outfit from the same era:

9 comments:

  1. BarbwireOctober 27, 2014 at 7:54 PM

    Somebody has to do it. Do these remind anyone else of a certain SF movie? Say a talkative robot and a villain who wears a black headpiece/mask?

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    1. AnonymousOctober 28, 2014 at 12:36 PM

      Probably where Hollywood got the idea.....

      Delete
  2. MargaretOctober 28, 2014 at 8:11 AM

    I have a friend who used to be a firefighter in the UK. I asked him about these masks and this is what he said:

    "I've seen them many a time and coveted them. They were the forerunner of modern breathing apparatus and allowed firefighters to enter smoke filled buildings to rescue people and fight the fire from within. They were connected to leather pipes that the firefighter had to drag behind them while at the other end was a pump, like a huge set of bellows, that other firefighters pumped to supply fresh air.
    To buy one in fair condition, complete with bellows, costs about $2500 and up!"

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    1. MinnesotastanOctober 28, 2014 at 9:15 AM

      Thank you, Margaret. That's exactly what I wanted to know.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousOctober 29, 2014 at 2:11 PM

    Riskier?

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    1. MinnesotastanOctober 30, 2014 at 9:33 PM

      Yes. Walking into a fire wearing equipment containing oxygen is riskier than using equipment containing air.

      Delete
    2. RoseOctober 31, 2014 at 8:26 PM

      Pure oxygen can very rapidly oxidize... that is burn. Having pure oxygen in a burning environment is the same as bringing in more fuel for the fire. A normal breathing air mixture still provides oxygen to the fire but is less volatile.

      Delete
  4. AleksejsNovember 3, 2014 at 7:43 AM

    Here is a photo from Firefighting museum in Riga, Latvia:
    http://muzejs.vugd.gov.lv/resources/wm/images/lum/800x/ug_muz_02.jpg
    Breathing apparatus “Kenig-If” with lead and bellows, produced by company “Langensiefen & Co”; St.Petersburg, beginning of the 20th century

    Other nice things in gallery:
    http://muzejs.vugd.gov.lv/eng/digital_gallery/photogallery

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