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USS Cheyenne Submariners Welcome New Firefighting Gear

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040419-13

Release Date: 4/20/2004 4:17:00 AM

By Journalist 3rd Class Corwin Colbert, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- The nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) finished the implementation of its Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) firefighting equipment April 9.

Cheyenne is the fourth Pearl Harbor-based submarine to implement the new breathing apparatus.

Since its development in the 1930s, submariners have relied on the Oxygen Breathing Apparatus (OBA) to breathe in smoke-filled environments. With the phasing out of OBAs, submariners are breathing a collective sigh of relief with their new SCBA gear.

Members of the crew have expressed relief and approval of the new change.

"I think SCBAs are wonderful, compared to the OBAs. They are more convenient and compartment accessible," said Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Jay Batista of Auxiliary division.

OBAs are worn on the chest, which can cause problems for submariners when trying to avoid heat or smoke-filled spaces. They are harder to put on and more prone to snagging on shipboard objects than SCBAs.

The SCBAs air cylinders are mounted on a harness and worn on the back, which improves weight distribution and maneuverability. In addition, SCBAs have audible and vibrating low-air alarms.

"SCBAs are more comfortable to wear and take a lot of weight off your shoulders. You can maneuver with a fire hose a lot easier, such as using the over the shoulder method," Batista said.

"That is the unique part of the SCBA. Instead of running to change out your OBA, which takes about 15 minutes, you can change inside a smoke-filled compartment in less than five," said Machinist's Mate 1st Class Tim Schreyer, auxiliary division's leading petty officer.

With 14 units aboard, there are 14 additional canisters for use in case refilling cannot be accomplished during an event. Batista explains the SCBA also has another plus for use on submarines.

"It is very beneficial to the submarine as a whole, because the submarine is small, and the SCBAs are more accessible and easier to store," Batista said.

According to Batista, it took 11 days to replace the OBAs, because modifications had to be made to the ship to accommodate the new gear.

"It took a while because we had to modify the high pressure air pipes, and put in recharging stations. We also had to take down all the old OBA lockers to put in new ones, and we did some welding to add brackets for the SCBAs," Batista said.

Schreyer said halfway through the install, the crew was trained on how to wear and use the firefighting gear. However, the division had a bigger task than basic training.

"After the install was complete, auxiliary division got more training, because we are the ones who will be responsible for it. We are going to be the ones performing maintenance on the equipment. We have to clean, disassemble and repair them. It has an eight-year warranty and some of the parts have a 15-year warranty," said Schreyer.

"It is easier to perform maintenance on the SCBA because, unlike the OBA, you do not have any moving parts that can be broken, and you do not have to change out any canisters," he said.

"To sum it up, it's convenient and state-of-the art. OBAs have been used for a long time. The civilian firefighters use the SCBAs and finally we are, too," Batista concluded.