Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS TRAINING BACKPACK

Date Range From

1995

Date Range To

2005

Materials

CANVAS, NYLON, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Height

58.2

Length

35.0

Width

133.2

Description

SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS TRAINING BACKPACK. STEEL AIR TANK, PAINTED MEDIUM GREY, WITH DARK YELLOW CANVAS SHOULDER STRAPS, AND GREEN NYLON WAIST STRAP. MEDIUM GREY STEEL AIR BOTTLE, HELD TO THE HARNESS ASSEMBLY BY A SILVER COLOURED METAL BRACKET. THIS BRACKET HAS A LARGE YELLOW WITH GREEN WRITING STICKER: "MSA AIRMASK MODEL 401". HARNESS ASSEMBLY IS ALSO MEDIUM GREY METAL AND IS ROUGHLY RECTANGULAR IN SHAPE. AT THE TOP OF THE RECTANGLE IS A CIRCLE, WHICH IS WHERE THE YELLOW SHOULDER STRAPS ARE AFFIXED WITH BLACK AND SILVER COLOURED RIVETS TO THE HARNESS ASSEMBLY. YELLOW STRAPS ARE PADDED AND EACH STRAP HAS A SQUARE OF THE LOOP SIDE OF VELCRO AT THE BOTTOMS. THE YELLOW STRAPS ATTACH TO THE RIGID WAIST SUPPORT WITH BLACK NYLON STRAPS. THE ENDS OF THE BLACK STRAPS HAVE A RECTANGULAR PIECE OF THE HOOK SIDE OF VELCRO AND THE VERY ENDS ARE FINISHED WITH A SEMI-CIRCULAR PIECE OF SILVER METAL. THE RIGID WAIST SUPPORT IS PADDED WITH BLACK FABRIC. THE GREEN WAIST STRAPS ARE AFFIXED TO THE RIGID METAL SUPPORT WITH TWO BLACK RIVETS EACH. THE WAIST STRAP CLOSES WITH A SEAT BELT STYLE BUCKLE. THE BUCKLE IS ON THE WEARER'S RIGHT SIDE AND IS STAMPED ON THE REVERSE WITH: "UIO BUCKLE WEAR BELT SNUG. REPLACE IF DAMAGED OR FRAYED." BOTTOM OF AIR BOTTLE IS STAMPED WITH "DOT-3A A2015. D136587 MSA". THE STAMP CONTINUES UNDER THE HARNESS, BUT IS NOT READABLE. PRESSURE GAUGE AND REGULATOR ALSO ON THIS END OF THE BOTTLE. OVERALL IN GOOD CONDITION. BOTTLE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN YELLOW AND THEN PAINTED GREY. GREY PAINT HAS SCRATCHED OFF ALL OVER THE AIR BOTTLE, REVEALING THE YELLOW SURFACE BELOW. ALL FABRIC STRAPS ARE IN GOOD CONDITION, WITH NO VISIBLE TEARS OR RIPS. YELLOW STRAPS ARE DISCOLOURED.

Subjects

MINING & MINERAL HARVESTING T&E

Historical Association

SAFETY SERVICES

History

THIS SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS TRAINING BACKPACK WAS USED BY THE LETHBRIDGE FIRE DEPARTMENT. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT PROVIDED AT THE TIME OF DONATION, JESSE KURTZ, DEPUTY CHIEF – SUPPORT SERVICES (RETIRED), EXPLAINED THAT THE “THIS IS JUST A HARNESS FOR TRAINING PURPOSES WITH A STEEL AIR CYLINDER. IT SIMULATES THE ACTUAL WEIGHT AND FEEL OF A REAL SETUP. [IT WAS] ‘HOME BUILT’ FOR TRAINING PURPOSES.” IN THE SUMMER OF 2015, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN CONDUCTED A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH CURRENT AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING TREVOR LAZENBY (HIRED IN 1994). HE RECALLED: “I DON’T THINK I EVER WORN ONE OF THESE AT AN ACTUAL FIRE. I THINK I’VE ONLY EVER WORN THE NEXT GENERATION FIBERGLASS-WRAP … WE HAD THE FIBERGLASS ONES IN FRONTLINE SERVICE WHEN I STARTED, SO THIS WOULD BE PRE-1994, IF I’M NOT MISTAKEN. I DON’T THINK WE HAD THESE ON THE TRUCKS IN ’94. THEY WERE AROUND AND THEY WERE BACKUPS, BUT THEY WEREN’T FRONTLINE … WE KEPT ONE OR TWO AT THE NORTHSIDE FIRE HALL AND AT THE WESTSIDE FIRE HALL BECAUSE WHEN GUYS AT LUNCHTIME HAVE A WORKOUT, OR AFTER WORK, THEY’LL HAVE A WORKOUT AND THEY’LL ACTUALLY PUT THE OLD HEAVY STEEL BOTTLE ON AND THEY’LL CLIMB THE STAIRS – SO IT’S USED TO WORK OUT AND NOTHING ELSE. VERY, VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. VERY HEAVY DESIGN.” SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE LETHBRIDGE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

Catalogue Number

P20150010018

Acquisition Date

2015-02

Collection

Museum

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