Dräger has launched the Dräger BG ProAir, a closed-circuit breathing apparatus with innovative features to protect emergency responders during longer deployments such as in tunnelling and mining rescue operations.

The breathing appartus’ positive pressure breathing closed circuit prevents toxic substances from entering the breathing system. Both inhalation and exhalation are optimised by cooling and enriching the air with oxygen before inhaling, and CO2 being absorbed when exhaling. It also gives even distribution of the breathing apparatus’ weight enhances comfort and ergonomics.

Oxygen is supplied according to the wearer’s personal workload, allowing more than four hours duration at low breathing rates, and the new cooling concept also makes breathing easier and more natural, allowing the emergency responder to manage the incident at a lower work rate.

It is further enhanced by smart onboard electronics, which include a low-pressure sensor. The integrated low-pressure sensor warns when there is a lack of oxygen to ensure safe breathing. The sensor also provides a low-pressure leak test of the breathing system.

The BG ProAir’s housing features highly visible reflectors and a buddy light system that alerts other emergency responders to their team members’ vital information, such as cylinder pressure, and operating time.

User data is visible on the high-contrast, full colour display even in the difficult environments such as darkness, bright sunlight or smoke. An integrated Bluetooth module also provides a short-range connection to work with external devices such as gas detectors as well as a PC connection to download data and perform configuration.

The BG ProAir’s integrated data telemetry and RFID assists the user in multiple scenarios such as entry control management and absorber status tracking. In addition to time calculations such as time to whistle, Dräger has also integrated recognised features such as PASS, ADSU and temperature readings.

Liz Millward, Marketing Manager at Dräger Safety UK, said the BG ProAir is the culmination of proven manufacturing and design experience: “Dräger’s BG ProAir is evidence of our commitment to continual improvement. It delivers new functionality that has the potential to save lives and will improve wearer comfort, especially important when attending the most challenging, longer-duration incidents where heat, high-humidity, tight spaces and poor visibility are typical.”