Cross-contamination Protection: MSA G1 SCBA

The MSA G1 SCBA is a product built with the future in mind. It was designed to reduce the risk of cross-contamination well before COVID-19.

Cross-contamination is a common concern for firefighters because it can easily occur during normal activities. It occurs when one person receives infectious materials from another person by touching a contaminated surface or by breathing contaminated air.

Many fire departments are providing individual-issued facepieces to their firefighters to mitigate cross-contamination from one user to another; however, that alone does not always provide complete protection.

Second stage regulators that are shared among individuals may also serve as a source for cross-contamination if they were not engineered with proper protection engineered into the overall design.

To reduce the potential for cross-contamination, MSA’s G1 Facepiece and G1 Second Stage Regulator were designed with the following features:

• The G1 Facepiece incorporates a separate ambient air port that is used for both inhalation and exhalation when the facepiece is worn without the second stage regulator connected.
• When the second stage regulator is connected, the ambient air port is sealed and separated by an O-ring. This O-ring seal prevents airflow supplied by the second stage regulator from contacting the ambient air port.
• The G1 facepiece utilizes an inhalation check valve when the second stage regulator is connected, while the exhalation valve diverts air outside of the facepiece. This design feature directs potentially contaminated exhaled air away from the second stage regulator.