FIRE Drives MSA to Expand Support For Firefighters

For almost 90 years, MSA has supported and served firefighting and rescue teams. Recently, we have fired up our human and technological resources so that we can meet the increasing needs of the fire service market.

During the past year, we acquired three companies to augment our capabilities. They are: the distinctive CairnsHELMETS® fire helmet business; an experienced infrared thermal imaging camera developer (ISI Group, Inc.); and Surety Manufacturing and Testing Ltd. (of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), a leader in fall protection equipment and rescue systems.

MSA continues to improve our SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) configurations, while developing accessories that multiply their value. (See sidebars for examples.)

We will soon introduce our new FireHawk™ MMR second-stage regulator, which features a unique slide-to-connect attachment system. Firefighters who caught a sneak preview of this innovative SCBA enhancement at the FDIC (Fire Department Instructors’ Conference, March 2 – 4, 2001) gave it an enthusiastic “thumbs up” for its performance and features, especially its ease of disassembly and re-assembly (without tools).

Our SCBA are manufactured at MSA’s Murrysville manufacturing facility, which IndustryWeek magazine named one of the best manufacturing plants in North America and Europe in 2000. This award is based on performance metrics and practices in categories such as benchmarking, community involvement, customer and supplier relations, productivity, quality, and use of technology.

Professional service begins with trained MSA-authorized distributors and MSA’s specialized Fire Service field representatives. They understand the hazards that firefighters face and the regulations that they must comply with. Our Customer Service Center has a trained cadre of specialists as well, whom you can reach directly at the Fire Service Customer Service number: 1-877-MSA-FIRE.

Continuous improvements make great SCBA better

Could you search for and rescue people by dashing into smoky, burning buildings without worrying about where your next breath was coming from?

Firefighters who wear MSA’s MMR Xtreme® Air Masks know these are SCBA at their best. They are thinking about their work, and confident that their MSA Air Masks will get them through another fire.

MSA’s drive is to make those Air Masks better and better, year after year. Our desire to exceed the rapid pace of technology and the increasing demands of SCBA users makes continuous upgrades and new inventions inevitable. That’s part of the great excitement we feel when we show the fire service what’s coming next from MSA.

The future of SCBA starts with the best of everything we NOW offer. We call our current most advanced, strongest, lightest SCBA “the MMR Xtreme Air Mask.” Here’s a quick description:

Start with the Ultra Elite® Facepiece, with a wide wraparound lens for distortion-free vision and a speaking diaphragm with outstanding speech intelligibility. The breathing air supply enters the mask via a clean low-profile mask-mounted regulator (MMR) with large shutoff button that’s easily manageable with gloves.

The Vulcan™ Harness & Carrier features a unique lumbar support system with a “flared” frame design that shifts the weight of the Air Mask from the shoulders to the hips. The back plate also offers a “spine relief” while holding the lightweight top-of-the-line Stealth air cylinder.

Stealth™ carbon-fiber-wrapped cylinders, available in both high and low operating pressures, with 30 or 60 minutes of air, feature a unique, high-performance carbon fiber outer wrap that offers the best strength-to-weight ratio.

All of MSA’s SCBA and accessories for firefighters meet applicable NFPA standards. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) demands the best products for the best protection, and the Fire Service gets it from MSA.