Articles

Short practical articles on single topics from everyday gas rescue work: equipment, procedures, typical mistakes and the safety of the team. Each article carries the date it was written or last reviewed and links to the official reports, standards and guidance it is based on.

27 October 2026Communication in breathing apparatus teamsHow BA teams stay in contact — radio discipline, Ex-rated radios, voice amplifiers, line and hand signals, entry control, distress signals and telemetry.6 October 2026Heat stress in protective clothingWhy protective clothing and breathing apparatus cause heat strain, how to plan work and rest, hydrate, cool down and recognise heat illness early.15 September 2026Common mistakes with self-contained breathing apparatusTypical errors with self-contained breathing apparatus — skipped checks, poor mask seal, air management, entry control — and how to avoid them.25 August 2026Oxygen deficiencyWhy oxygen-deficient atmospheres kill without warning: inert gases, effects on the body, purging, oxygen monitoring, limits in different countries and why rescuers die.28 July 2026Confined-space entryPlanning a confined-space entry step by step: identification, permit to work, isolation, ventilation, atmospheric testing, entry control, standby and rescue plan.23 June 2026Bump test vs calibrationWhat a bump test and a calibration of a gas detector are, how often each is done, what records to keep and what to do when an instrument fails.19 May 2026Choosing a portable gas detectorHow to choose a portable gas detector: single-gas or multi-gas, sensor types, pumped or diffusion sampling, alarms, explosion protection, standards and running costs.

For quick answers to common questions, see the FAQ; for the meaning of technical terms, see the glossary.