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Effective, Inexpensive Filtration Mask Helps Both Civilians and Professionals
In our recent readership survey (see sidebar, at right), 81 percent of our respondents said they'd like to read articles about new technologies that are of interest to the fire service and EMT professions. We'll be featuring updates on such technologies as a result; your ideas for future articles can be submitted to us via email at heritage@ffic.com.
 Our first product profile is the patented "Xcaper Emergency Smoke Mask," — or "WHIFF" brand for the professional version — a moist, cloth filtration mask. This simple, inexpensive product has been generating enthusiastic reviews from firefighters and corporate emergency personnel alike for several years. It comes in both professional and civilian models.
This simple device consists of a mesh-covered cloth mask filled with small styrene pellets soaked in a moist, proprietary gel derived from the aloe vera plant.
"The mask filters out from 92 to 98 percent of all dangerous particles and gasses found in smoke for 30 minutes or longer, depending on conditions," says Peter Finch, co-founder and CEO of the company that sells the Xcaper/WHIFF mask. "The particles stick to the coated pellets when inhaled, while the user is able to breathe without interruption."
The Xcaper, which comes packaged in a protective foil pouch to keep it moist until it's needed, also cools the air inhaled during fires, lessening the incidence of mouth, lung and nose tissue burns.
"It's a relatively inexpensive device that has been proven effective again and again in our own controlled fire demonstrations," says Finch. The civilian model, says Finch, is a "no-brainer" for a civilian to unwrap and put on while escaping from a burning building, and also comes with non-fogging goggles that keep smoke and particles out of the eyes. The professional model attaches to a fire-retardant face guard, but is also quite simple to use as well.
Used By Fire Departments, Major Corps. Despite Standards Issue
Unfortunately, the Xcaper/WHIFF mask is not certified by the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), says Finch, because NIOSH does not have standards for testing the particular type of product that the mask represents.
"You can't test a product for standards if there's no test designed for it yet," says Finch.
However, he adds, the Xcaper is on the verge of being approved by a European occupational standards agency, and has also been used widely in Mexico where access to expensive, professionally certified breathing tanks is limited. In the U.S., it has been used by a number of fire departments, including the San Jose City Fire Department, the Hammond, New York Fire Rescue, and the Polk County, Florida Fire Department. It is ISO 9000 certified, and has been tested by the U.S. Navy Safety and Survivability Office, Firefighter Rescue Inc., and other organizations.
Major corporations, such as the Lehman Brothers brokerage firm, have purchased the civilian version for use in evacuating employees from their offices in case of a fire or biological/chemical attack.
"We've done our own controlled burning demonstrations with the Xcaper and invited corporate emergency personnel to watch and participate in them. Once they walk into a controlled burn site with nothing but the Xcaper to protect them from smoke inhalation, they are pretty impressed," adds Finch.
The Xcaper/WHIFF Emergency Smoke Mask is currently sold online to professionals and individuals, and through a formal sales force to corporations.
J.C. Colorado of Petaluma, Calif., is a 24-year veteran of the fire service, and a distributor of the Xcaper. Colorado has used the Xcaper/WHIFF mask while fighting wildland fires, as well as in more conventional urban fires. He says that in the wild, the Xcaper is especially useful for filtering out inflammatory particles generated by burning vegetation, such as poison oak plants, as well as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and other dangerous substances typically found in wood smoke. Xcaper allows firefighters to complete salvage and overhaul operations without having to don a heavy, self-contained breathing apparatus. This reduces firefighter fatigue and provides for filtering out harmful toxins.
Colorado has also seen the usefulness of the product for evacuating civilians from burning buildings or enclosures. "You just want something to get them out safely and quickly. It's inexpensive, light, easy to use, and easy to store. A handkerchief or dust mask is no comparison. It's an incredible product."
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