The City of Vancouver is suing Draeger Safety Canada and Drager Safety UK for supplying allegedly defective breathing apparatuses that put the lives of firefighters in danger.
The city filed a notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court on July 9. It claims that, for more than $1.5 million, it bought 307 PSS 7000 self-contained breathing apparatuses that were first put into use in 2009. But between July 2011 and June 2013, “critical components of the units failed repeatedly … creating a risk of serious injury or death to VFRS [Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services] firefighters.”
According to the claim, the valves controlling delivery and flow of air to firefighters separated from the face masks of the units 69 times, 32 “of which occurred unexpectedly while firefighters were in the field, in live-fire training or while performing company drills.”
Draeger allegedly told the city to store and handle the units more delicately after the incidents and “recommended increasingly detailed and frequent inspection routines for both front-line firefighters and repair staff,” the claim states.
The city claims it implemented the recommendations; however, the units allegedly kept failing and Draeger suggested untested solutions to fix the problems, including gluing the valves to the face masks, even though the glue would prevent scheduled maintenance on the equipment.
In addition, some of the units’ exhalation valves became stuck in the “open” position, which exposed a Vancouver firefighter to heavy smoke in March 2013. Other failures included faulty voice amplifiers and excessive battery draw, and “numerous” units had corrosion issues, the city claims.
In August 2013, the city claims it spent approximately $2.4 million replacing the equipment from another supplier. The city seeks damages for breach of contract, product liability and negligent misrepresentation. The allegations have not been tested in court and the defendants had not filed a response by press time.
