The Tulsa Fire Department launched an investigation into the possible failure of a breathing mask after a firefighter took in smoke at an east Tulsa business fire Friday.
Fire Captain John Smith left the scene on a stretcher as a precaution, but the department said he's fine now. He left the building immediately after smelling smoke inside the mask - a sign his air supply in compromised.
"Something’s gone wrong, and it may be your fault, it may be the breathing apparatus’ fault, we don't know. But he did the right thing - he turned around immediately and left because, we put these on because you're not supposed to be breathing that stuff,” Captain Stan May with TFD said.
The incident Friday - with firefighters in unusually toxic smoke at a chemical fire - prompted the fire department to ask for immediate testing by the manufacturer. They'll download data recorded by the mask to see if something failed or if it was just a poor fit on the firefighter.