City of
Common
Council Report
Meeting
Date: March 31, 2008
Item
No.:
Recommendation: That the Common Council approve the purchase
of Safety Devices for the Fire Department Breathing Apparatus that includes,
Personal Alerting Safety Systems and Breathing Display Units.
Background: We originally purchased our MSA Self
Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) in 2002.
Since the SCBA has been in service, a device called the Heads Up Display (HUD), showing breathing air available, has been
malfunctioning on multiple SCBA units.
We have also had a problem with the Personal Alerting Safety System
(PASS), a device that activates for a downed firefighter. The mechanical problem creates an alarming
for no reason on a consistent basis giving false alerts, leading firefighters
on the scene to become complacent and ignore the alerts. The new devices are of circuitry-based design
giving more reliability to the user and less wear on the instrument itself.
Even
though the manufacturer’s warranty has expired, MSA has replaced 20 of the PASS
units. We have asked that the company
replace out the balance of our PASS units due to possible manufacturer
defect. Rather than waiting, we need to
replace the units now for firefighter safety reasons.
Fiscal Impact: The funds were approved during the budget
review process. The total amount for the
purchase is $10,270. These funds will be
taken from CIP Account #08008.
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Prepared by: Thomas A. Rosandich Assistant Fire Chief |
Respectfully submitted, Patrick DeGrave City Administrator |
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Approved by Brian M. Satula Fire Chief |
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Fiscal Review by: Beverly A. Buretta, CMC City Clerk |