Schiavo Sheet #1
Schiavo Sheets are single pages of information on all aspects of
aviation safety, security, and travel, and cover airlines, airports
and airplanes. Each Sheet was designed to help busy people fly safer,
and takes less than 60 seconds to read.
Number 1 - Smoke Hoods -
Where to get them
The pilots have them. The
flight attendants have them. There's one for everybody on board Air
Force One. Also referred to as PBEs or protective breathing equipment,
the pilots' and flight attendants' also have an oxygen supply. Yours
cannot. It would cost 2 cents a passengers for the airlines to supply
them, but they do not. In the event of smoke, fire or toxic fumes on
board, smoke hoods are filters which cover your head and give you 15
to 20 minutes of filtered air, to stay alive and get out of that
plane. Buy and carry your own. I even carry them in my car, and they
are lifesaving in a hotel fire. Many hotels in earthquake zones in
Japan, Hong Kong and Korea have them mounted right next to your hotel
room door. I would want one in a high rise office, too.
You must not open a smoke
hood until you need it. Once opened it lasts 15 to 20 minutes.
Unopened, they have a shelf life of about 5 or more years. All
companies offer a cheap practice model, without the expensive
operational filter of course.
You must get a smoke hood
that filters out carbon monoxide. The following three do. Based on how
fast I could get it on, how well I could see once I got it on, and how
good the seal against the noxious fumes was for me, I carry the EVAC
U8, the first one listed. When I bought mine, it was also the
cheapest, curiously enough, and reported the longest protection time.
· EVAC U8: Brookdale International. 800-459-3822 or 604-324-3822
· PARAT C: Drager Safety 800-922-5518 or 412-787-8383
· Plus 10: Essex PB&R: 800-296-7587 or 618-659-9070
