The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has issued the Report on Proposals (ROP) concerning the 2006 fall revision cycle of NFPA 1981: Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus for Fire and Emergency Services for public review and comment. Comments will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. EST on March 3, 2006.
The proposed 2007 edition of the standard has caused some debate within the fire and emergency services community in recent weeks due to the inclusion of new requirements for SCBA cylinder interchangeability.
The ROP includes a special notice from the NFPA Technical Committee (TC) on Respiratory Protection Equipment which outlines some of the pros and cons of the proposed changes regarding cylinder interchangeability. They encourage members of the emergency service community to submit comments:
1. in support for the proposed requirements;
2. in supporting requirements with changes (specify recommended changes); or
3. in opposition to the requirements.
In all cases, those submitting comments must include the reason or substantiation for their position.
Members of the Fire Service should review and comment on the ROP which is available online at:
Draft 2007 Edition of NFPA1981
www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/ROP/1981-07-ROP-Draft.pdf
Committee Reports, Comment Form, and Notice of Intent to Make a Motion: http://www.nfpa.org/Assets/Files/PDF/ROP/1981-07-ROP.pdf

In addition to the above the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) has worked with members of the NFPA Respiratory Protection Equipment Committee to develop a summary that answers many specific questions that have come up during the course of the discussion of the proposed changes to the NFPA 1981 standard.
This summary is available on the IAFC Web site at http://www.iafc.org/associations/4685/files/Air_Cylinder_FAQs.pdf.