By Cheryl Livingstone
The Aberdeen Press and Journal
ABERDEEN, Scotland — Plastic safety visors worn by north firefighters have been replaced with glass ones after some blistered during a training exercise.
A firefighter who was wearing one of the visors said yesterday he did not feel “at risk” at any point. Marty Cooper, secretary of Fire Brigade Union, was wearing the equipment during a fire behaviour training course at its Invergordon base in December last year. The exercises are held in 40-ft long steel containers where a fire is lit. The students watch it develop for about 20 minutes and are then asked to reduce it to an acceptable level. Three of the plastic breathing apparatus masks “blistered” while being used by the instructors but nobody was injured.
Following the incident an investigation was carried out and the plastic visors were replaced with glass. Mr Cooper said: “We weren’t concerned. One of the visors affected was mine and I didn’t feel at risk at all.”
Highland councillor Fraser Parr, a former firefighter, initially raised concern about the visors after reading about it in a health and safety report. It is understood he met Deputy Chief Fire Officer Stewart Edgar over the weekend to resolve any issues. He could not be reached for comment last night.
Mr Edgar compared the heat damage to condensation. He said the visor continued to offer full protection to the wearer.
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