Gas detectors are essential safety tools for the fire service. In order for the fire department to be able to successfully identify potentially hazardous, explosive gas leaks, toxic gases, or asphyxiants, gas detectors are essential.
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Accurate gas detection is a crucial way of identifying the best strategy for dealing with a hazardous situation and for ensuring the safety of individual firefighters.
The fire department often uses both static and mobile gas detectors for a variety of gases, including acetylene, hydrogen cyanide, and carbon monoxide. While some detectors can only be used to determine whether gas is present or not, others can be used to calculate the concentration of the gas that is present.
When non-toxic and inert gases, such as nitrogen, become so concentrated that they displace oxygen in the air, they can become a hazard. As a result, reliable concentration measurements from gas detectors are a crucial component of excellent safety procedures for the fire service and other sectors.
For accurate concentration readings, the majority of gas detectors rely on calibration with calibration gases. Rechecking the detector with calibration gases may also be needed when it comes to recalibration and ensuring that the detector is performing as it is expected to.
For the fire service, this recalibration process may need to be carried out at regular intervals as part of safety procedures.
Appropriate calibration gases are essential for each type of gas that the detector will be using, as the chemical composition of the gas to be detected has the potential to affect the electrical response of the device.
The calibration’s quality will depend on the concentration and range of concentrations utilized for the calibration gases, which must also be accurate and precise. The concentration range for fire service applications must include a safety margin in addition to the number of gases that are expected to be present during usage.
Functional Bump Test
The best safety precautions are frequently preventative, and for the fire service, this frequently entails checking that the gas detectors are functioning properly. Functional bump tests can be performed to assess a device’s performance, and since calibration gases are obtained at established quantities, testing is quick and simple to perform.
This can also help to enhance the efficiency of the safety services that the fire services provide.
Gas detectors must be examined on a regular basis, according to many specific safety laws. Those tests might need to be carried out as frequently as once every week for various forms of gas detection.
The use of calibration gases and the ability to expedite and simplify testing can help to increase safety compliance and lessen the burden on the fire department and other users while also reducing workload.
Air Products’ Calibration Gases
For all gas detection requirements, Air Products offers a variety of calibration gases. This includes sophisticated regulated devices for more precise calibration gases as well as non-refillable portable canisters for field testing, fire service applications, and other uses.
Air Products is an internationally renowned specialist in all areas of industrial gases, including the creation and supply of gas mixtures for calibration gases, many of which are used for fire service applications.
As one of the largest gas providers in the world, Air Products provides both bespoke and off-the-shelf gases.
Air Products offers an extensive range of calibration gases for when longer-term gas storage is not ideal, and these can be dispatched immediately.
Delivered in portable, lightweight cylinders to make them easy to use and deploy, Air Products can support your calibration gases with its expert advice to find the right product for any fire service needs.
Contact the team today to find out today how Air Products’ calibration gases can help improve safety procedures and fire service safety and simplify the maintenance of gas detectors.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Air Products PLC.
For more information on this source, please visit Air Products PLC.