March 11, 1999
To:Emergency and Protective Services Committee
Budget Committee
From:Barry H. Gutteridge, Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services
and Alan F. Speed, Fire Chief
Subject:Status Report - Evaluation of standardized Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus
(SCBA) for the Toronto Fire Services.
Purpose:
To provide members of the Budget Committee with a status report on the Fire Services'
project to test and evaluate various suppliers' self-contained breathing apparatus.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
There are no funding implications associated with this report. Funding is contained in the
1999 Capital Budget as approved by council.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that council receive this report as information.
Reference/Background/History:
In August 1998, the Fire Chief established a task force to develop evaluation criteria and to
conduct tests of the various vendors' SCBA offerings to identify SCBA products suitable for
acquisition by the Fire Services.
The objectives of the task force were:
(a)to notify and invite manufacturers and/or agents to participate in extensive product
testing,
(b)to test and evaluate each product presented, and
(c)to recommend the purchase of those models of self-contained breathing apparatus
meeting the established testing and evaluation criteria.
The SCBA task force members included a cross section of staff including members of
management, operations, professional development/training, mechanical, technical service,
and health and safety representatives.
All decisions regarding product elimination were reached by unanimous vote. This process
required tough decisions that were made with integrity and in partnership with the fire
fighters' association.
The notification of all interested parties was achieved by newspaper advertising, web-site
posting and "Expression of Interest" mailings to all known SCBA manufacturers or agents.
Eight out of eleven possible manufacturers or agents responded and agreed to participate in a
product competition. Each was invited to present their product to task force members. In
addition, manufacturers were requested to provide a list of fire departments that had recently
purchased the make and model of SCBA presently being considered for purchase by Toronto
Fire Services.
Fire fighters conducted field-test exercises to provide them with the opportunity to evaluate
aspects of each SCBA during work-related activities and tasks. More than one hundred and
thirty fire fighters, both male and female, participated in eight days of controlled field testing.
Health and safety issues were of paramount importance throughout the entire SCBA
evaluation. Manufacturers were eliminated from further consideration when significant safety
issues were identified and could not be resolved.
After field evaluation, the remaining three manufactures (Scott, MSA and ISI) met with task
force members and Toronto Fire Service technical staff to demonstrate the design service and
functional features of their respective SCBA. The purpose was to allow the task force
members to focus on each product's quality, serviceability and field centre support.
Following the completion of the testing and evaluation phases of the selection process, the
task force members announced that both the Scott 50 and the MSA Custom 4500 MMR met
the needs and safety requirements of Toronto Fire Services as it relates to:
(a)Carbon-fiber cylinders
(b)Fast-fill connectors
(c)Records management database
(d)Manufacturer's support
(e)Low pressure supplied air connectors
Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:
Now that the major issues of identifying preferred suppliers of SCBA have been addressed
and resolved, the next phase of this project will be to conduct a price tender via the purchasing
division of the Finance Department.
Conclusions:
The SCBA evaluation and acquisition project is progressing well. Staff of the Fire Services
expect to submit a further report to council in about two month's time recommending the
execution of an agreement with one of the two manufacturers/agents on our short list.
Contact Name:
Alan F. Speed
Fire Chief
Tel: 397-4300 Fax: 397-4325
Alan F. Speed
Fire Chief
Barry H. Gutteridge
Commissioner
Works and Emergency Services
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