Since 911 I've been treating a victim who was trapped in an adjacent building, then eventually evacuated through the clouds of smoke, dust, and other particulates in the air. When I recently asked "what do you wish you had with you", NONE of our PSK items came up. What came up was: Swimmers goggles, and a paper painters face filter. This person still goes into a panic attack triggered by smoke/large dust particles in the air.

So what do you think? I think I'll add the goggles (they're tiny) and a filter-paper mask or two. I know Chris K probably never goes anywhere without his cowboy rag silk scarf and scuba mask. Do you guys think that eye and dust protection is worth considering for an Urban PSK?

Urban kits are a problem aren't they? They need to cover so many potential situations. I use a kit losely based on Lofty Wiseman's, but as I work in a number of large public buildings in the UKs second largest city I've been forced to consider a 911 type scenario. I now have a dust mask and goggles in my laptop bag. So, on balance I'd say at this moment in time there may be a need for them.

I've thought about it, but not yet done it. I do carry a silk handkercheif in the shoulder pouch I commute with, as well as a fleece "neckover" tube that might help.

I spent some time thinking about this after 9/11, and I think I would do something similar if I were working in a high rise. At the moment I'm moving from the 5th floor in one building to the 2nd floor in another, and the scenarios where I might be dealing with smoke/dust for long periods of time seem unlikley enough not to warrant the preparation. Not only are these low buildings a much less likely target, but if something did happen, it should be much easier to get out and away in short order.

Just remember to ignore the voice on the PA system telling you to return to your desk...

HI !

Last time I went to my physician, she had a cold, and was wearing a light mask, in order to lessen the distribution of her own microbes ... <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Next time, I will asked her for some of those. They seem light and small enough to easily add to a PSK.


Alain

I read an article a while back (I think it was in the New Yorker) about survivalists living in NYC. The EDC of one of the folks interviewed included one of those smoke escape hoods. I wonder if that would be worthwhile to have or are they just too big?

Chris

I added a pair of clear Gargoyles safety glasses to my carry bag after our earthquake. I had not thought of adding a more sealed type of goggles, but this would be a good idea considering the amount of dust kicked up by the quake and certainly by a building collapse.

Ditto on the dust mask. I think the hospital type may not be adequate for high dust environments. There is a Federal standard for dust masks...cannot remember the number but these are available at the Home improvement stores. Eye protection and a dust mask are required equipment in my CERT kit.

I am going to tuck a Dust mask in my carry bag. I always have both a silk and cotton bandana on my person as fall back.

Casual Hero- which city do you work in and doing what?

i dunno about the size but some of them also filter out carbon monoxide and other nasty gasses withs a dust mask won't. note that escape mask are not only for 9/11 type of terrorist atacks, they are very nise things to have wenn there is "just" a fire.
here is one of those masks http://saferamerica.com/productDetail.asp?categoryID=12&productID=55

I have the EVAC-U8 smoke hood and I carry it when I'm travelling. I take it out during take offs and landings on the airplane and place it by my bedside in the hotel.
It has raised a few eyebrows on the airplane from other fellow passengers so I jsut explain to them what it is when they ask. <img src="images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Anyway, its about the size of pepsi can and twice as heavy.

Pros are :
small package
hood protects eyes and face from smoke / heat
filters out carbon monoxide (which is the major killer in most fires)
5 year shelf life
If you do use it in an actual emergency , the distributor will replace it for free! (may vary with area)

Cons:
costly compared with goggles and simple mask
needs more space to store
has a shelf life

Consider both options carefully and if it fits your specifications you might want to get one.......<img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I had quite a scary experience while on holiday a few years back. There was a fire in the hotel in the middle of the night. I had to evacuate the hotel with my wife and two sleeping kids. I grabbed money and documents and left via the emergency exit and exited into the cold night air! And we were in PJs. Being from the tropics all the time, it didn't occur to me to grab the blankets to keep my kids & wife warm (myself too). We were shivering in the luckily not too cold ( about 10 deg C ) night air. Luckily it was just a small fire and we were back in the rooms in about 1 hour.

Therefore now with hindsight, I have all my stuff in a pack by the bedside together with the smoke hood should it happen again ( Hope not! )

The escape hoods I've seen are probably the best thing to have due to their CO2 protection. I carry a pair of ski goggles and dust mask in my backpack that goes most places with me. Be careful of scuba masks. They seem like a good idea being sealed and all, but if you don't put defog in them they'll steam up when you start to sweat, and if I ever have to use mine, I can assure you that I WILL be sweating. GI sun/wind/dust goggles would probably work, but I have no experience with these. The respirator I carry I picked up at Home Depot last summer. It's paper, similar to those worn by medical personel, but thicker and it is actually a harmful dust respirator. It's made by 3M, model N 95. I know it's not the best solution, but it folds inside the goggles, so it doesn't take up any more room, which means I'm much more likely to have it (not to mention the price is much easier on a college student's budget). Looking on their website, it seems HD actually has a mask that supercedes the protection of the one I have. I don't recall seing these in the store, so maybe I'll check that out. If I do I'll be sure to report back.
I'm sure different things will work better for different people, but I feel that this one will work for me, but hopefully it'll never have to.

Chris.

PS-- I can't get the link to behave, but if you go to Home Depot's main site and do a search on respirators, it should give you both the mask I have and the one that seems to be a little better.