Hi everybody, Andrej from CBRN Academy here!
In this video we're going to explain what to do in situations your gas mask gets damaged in
contaminated area and how to mitigate chances of such unpleasant events from happening in the
first place. For demonstration purposes we decided to use two old Czechoslovak gas masks that can be
irretrievably damaged and discarded without the need of destroying modern expensive ones. I have
quite a few of those! Despite your best efforts to keep your respirators in the best shape possible,
unexpected malfunctions can happen especially in field conditions so it's very important for you
to know how to react in such situations. Let's consider a scenario in which head harness straps
or buckles break while donning the mask. This can happen rather easily especially with old or
worn-off respirators in stressful situations when you pull the head harness straps with excessive
force. In such case it's important to stay calm and stick to the basic rules of gas mask
donning. Keep your eyes closed and breath held, press the mask firmly against your face to ensure
proper seal and only then exhale, open your eyes and resume breathing. Leave the contaminated area
as soon as possible. Head straps damage isn't an accident limited only to old gas masks. It can
also happen to new respirators with manufacturing defect. In the chemical biological radiological
and nuclear air purifying respirators assessment report conducted by Homeland Security in 2017,
the Scott FRR's provided for the assessment had defect in one unit's chin and another facepiece´s
strap broke on first pull. Yikes. Orientation in space while wearing a full-face respirator takes
a bit of practice especially because your field of view might be partially limited. There might be
also some visual distortion caused by the lenses or visibility conditions aren't exactly perfect
at the given moment, so it's very easy to trip over something. In this case protective outserts
saved the lenses from getting damaged. That's why we always recommend using protective outserts
whenever available for the gas mask you own. Now let's watch what might happen in a scenario
without the lens protection. A severe impact might rupture the lens and compromise the gas mask seal
which can prove fatal in a contaminated area. At this point your best chances of surviving is to
navigate your way out of the hot zone with your eyes closed and breath held and hope for the best.
You might be asking what is the probability of the lenses breaking? Not very high to be honest.
Most modern gas masks feature lenses made of polycarbonate, providing protection against impact
and scratches. In other words you would have to try very hard to damage them on purpose. On the
other hand lenses of older masks are usually made of tempered glass but even those are not broken
easily. In order to create the damage depicted in the video we had to pierce the lens with a pointy
screwdriver and oh boy it needed a lot of force! Chances of fatal lens damage aren't very high but
it might happen so it's always better to have them protected all the time. Now let's consider a
scenario in which the facepiece rubber has been torn, effectively breaking the seal but this time
with no easy escape from a contaminated area. In such situation it's always useful to carry repair
patches like these. They are meant for fixing tears in protective suits but you can also use them for
gas masks. You can also use a strong enough duct tape but let's be honest. Who carries duct
tape as part of their CBRN kit? On top of that, the repair patches are easy and quick to use
especially while wearing thick CBRN gloves. Once you realize your gas mask has been damaged
you stop breathing immediately and try to fix the rupture as soon as possible. Once the rupture
has been sealed, exhale sharply to remove possible contaminants from the inside of the mask. Sounds
easy enough right? I advise you to practice the drills from this video with some disposable
respirator you might have. The same procedure might be used in a scenario with a broken
lens even though we always recommend to leave the contaminated area as soon as possible. Never
try to fix your broken respirator in a hot zone, when you can simply get out of there. And now to
the final over-the-top scenario I hope no one will ever find themselves in. What do you do in case
your gas mask has been damaged beyond repair? The lenses are broken, the facepiece is torn and the
respirator is now completely unusable... just for the sake of argument! Unscrew the filter while
holding your breath with your eyes closed. Take off the damaged facepiece and put the filter in
your mouth. It sure looks ridiculous but this way you can keep on breathing through your mouth
while navigating with your eyes closed out of the contaminated area. Do not breathe through your
nose. Use one of your hands to hold the filter and the second one for orientation in space. In case
there is another person with an intact respirator hold them by the shoulder so they can navigate you
out of the contaminated area. So let's sum up the most important points when it comes to situations
your gas mask gets damaged in a contaminated area. The head harness straps or buckles breaking is
the most probable type of gas mask damage you might encounter even though it doesn't happen
often. It might be caused by old or worn-off materials or by manufacturing defect. Regardless
of the mask you use we always recommend to use additional lens protection in form of outserts or
other additional layer that protects the lenses. Better safe than sorry! Facepiece rupture cannot
be prevented by additional accessories like it's the case with lenses so you'd better be careful
for it not to happen. Once the facepiece is torn, it all depends on the extent of the damage.
Small or medium size ruptures can be easily fixed with patches or duct tape. In extreme
cases soil or any available material can be used to fill the hole as older military textbooks
recommend. Even though it sounds simple enough you always have to be aware of the possibility
of everything around you being contaminated so perhaps don't use the top layer but dig a few
centimeters deeper. In case of fatal damage to the mask it's always better to have a respirator
compatible with 40 mm cartridges instead of the bayonet ones. That's because in extreme cases
the 40 mm cartridges can be put in your mouth to provide the last resort protection of your
breathing apparatus. Thanks for watching! I hope you found the information in this video useful
and hopefully you're never going to need it, even though it's always better to be prepared
for unexpected situations. After all you're on your own. Like and subscribe and I'll see
you in the next episode of CBRN Academy.
