New Respirator Masks Could Reduce Hazards for Firefighters : Technology: Device is being tested on an elite helicopter crew. Researchers believe the covering will provide protection from carbon monoxide.

Firefighters have fought wildfires for decades with faces bare to the flames, but the practice has cost lives. An elite crew is now testing a mask that experts say could make firefighting safer worldwide.

“I can see when we’re on the head of a fire with the masks, we’re going to be able to power our way through. . . . You don’t get the runny eyes, you don’t start coughing and gagging,” said fire Capt. Dan Burns, the leader of the state team involved in the experiment.

The full-face glass and rubber respirator, developed by California scientists, is studded with twin knobs that make firefighters look like giant insects. Electrically charged fiberglass filters and activated-charcoal cartridges in the knobs remove smoke particles, organic vapors and acid gases.

A sensor flashes a tiny red light visible inside the mask when the concentration of carbon monoxide rises so high that a firefighter should take a break or leave. Carbon monoxide is a deadly gas, without color and odor, produced by incomplete combustion. It is one of the greatest threats to firefighters.

City firefighters who enter buildings filled with deadly gases have long worn masks linked to air supplies. But those devices, which depend on bottles that empty quickly, are not practical for forest firefighters.

Instead, wild-land firefighters still face blazes with just shrouds or bandannas over their faces because there has been no single mask that meets all needs and because perils have not been fully understood, scientists say.

“Historically, people have felt breathing protection wasn’t needed for forest firefighters. They didn’t think it was that much of a health hazard,” said Don Beason of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

A new appreciation of the dangers has emerged in recent studies after the deaths of two bulldozer operators in Southern California because of high concentrations of carbon monoxide in the air they were breathing, Beason said.

Researchers say that data recorders strapped to firefighters during recent tests on the new masks showed that they faced carbon monoxide concentrations high enough to be dangerous for extended exposure.

James Johnson, another Lawrence Livermore researcher, said that “respiratory protection is an issue that is either being studied or being ignored by most (fire) organizations.”

“Because there is no complete answer to respiratory protection, most organizations are doing nothing and firefighter exposures continue,” he said.

The Lawrence Livermore laboratory, operated by the University of California under contract with the federal government, developed the mask, which experts say provides many of the needed protections. The mask is being tested on the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection crew at the state’s request.

The helicopter attack, or “helitack,” crew in the Northern California community of Vina, about 150 miles northeast of San Francisco, wore the masks at fires for two weeks in September.

The team was selected because it responds frequently to a wide variety of blazes, flying there on a helicopter ahead of all others.

Lab researchers, who accompanied firefighters on missions, say that early findings indicate the design of the mask is sound, which means they may eventually be able to make it available to private industry for mass production. The probable cost of the masks would be in the $200 range.

Tests on the 30 masks built so far by the nonprofit research lab are expected to continue next year.

Although firefighters said they see the masks’ value, they also have identified some shortcomings.

The masks feel heavy on the face, so researchers plan to redesign the carbon monoxide sensor to be lighter. It also makes firefighters sweat worse on their faces and slightly restricts breathing.

“I liked it overall. It worked pretty good,” said firefighter Randy Rapp. “At one fire, it was so smoky, people without the masks were running for their vehicles.”