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Fire fighting and other emergency services personnel depend on SCBA for their respiratory protection against the products of combustion, hazardous materials, oxygen deficiency, and other IDLH atmospheres. Guard against contaminated or poorly maintained SCBA with this important new document covering the selection, purchase, proper care and maintenance of open-circuit SCBA, required by the respiratory protection program in NFPA 1500.

NFPA 1852 provides minimum criteria for SCBA:

- Cleaning and disinfecting
- Decontamination
- Storage
- User and technician maintenance
- Inspection
- Repair and rebuilding
- Cylinder filling
- Testing
- Equipment retirement and disposal

This Standard also specifies SCBA compliance with NFPA 1981, and includes requirements on upgrading SCBA, qualifications of SCBA technicians, and program quality assurance.