Earlier this year, the SEI, in collaboration with the NIOSH, established a "Common Announcement Date" at which time all breathing apparatus manufacturers that successfully completed testing would receive SEI certification notification at the same time. The Common Announcement Date, which was originally anticipated in the second half of August 2019, was postponed to October 9, 2019. Late last week, all breathing apparatus manufactures who had successfully passed required testing, which included MSA, were notified that the Common Announcement Date would be moved to September 30.
"We are extremely pleased that the common announcement date was expedited," said Jason Traynor, MSA's General Manager for Global Respiratory Protection and Fire Helmets. "The demand for new breathing apparatus technology in the U.S. Fire Service has been very solid, and today we're excited to know that we can continue to help meet that demand without any further delays related to product approvals and certifications."
As a matter of background, NFPA 1981 is the standard on SCBA for emergency services, establishing respiratory protection and functional requirements. The 2018 revisions in NFPA 1981 include changing the connection requirements for the SCBA regulator, now requiring two distinct actions (i.e., push and pull) to disconnect the regulator from the facepiece. Other changes include a modification to data logging requirements for breathing rate and cylinder pressure.
SOURCE: MSA Safety