The Proto is a type of

rebreather A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's breathing, exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantially unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. ...

that was made by

Siebe Gorman Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd was a British company that developed diving equipment and breathing equipment and worked on commercial diving and marine salvage projects. The company advertised itself as 'Submarine Engineers'. It was founded by Aug ...

. It was an

industrial breathing set A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), sometimes referred to as a compressed air breathing apparatus (CABA) or simply breathing apparatus (BA), is a device worn to provide breathable air in an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to ...

and not suitable for diving. It was made from 1914 or earlier to the 1960s or later. (Distinguish from "Proton", which is another sort of Siebe Gorman rebreather). Also known as proto suits. Its

breathing bag A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantially unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. Oxygen is ...

was worn on the chest. It had one or two

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

cylinders, across the

lumbar In tetrapod anatomy, lumbar is an adjective that means ''of or pertaining to the abdominal segment of the torso, between the diaphragm and the sacrum.'' The lumbar region is sometimes referred to as the lower spine, or as an area of the back i ...

part of the back: often one, bu
this image
shows two. Its duration in use was one or two hours, dependent on the size of oxygen cylinder fitted. Its absorbent (

tradename A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

Protosorb) was loose in the bottom of the breathing bag, restrained by a perforated cloth partition, and not in a canister. It had two wide breathing tubes running from the breathing bag to either a strapped-in mouthpiece (used with goggles) or an industrial-type

fullface mask A full-face diving mask is a type of diving mask that seals the whole of the diver's face from the water and contains a mouthpiece, demand valve or constant flow gas supply that provides the diver with breathing gas. The full face mask ha ...

known as a Vistarama face mask, with a curved window and an inner

orinasal mask An orinasal mask, oro-nasal mask or oral-nasal mask is a Breathing mask (disambiguation), breathing mask that covers the mouth and the nose only. It may be a complete independent item, as an oxygen mask, or on some anaesthetic apparatuses, or it ...

. The canister seen on the front of the bag was to cool the gas in circuit, as the absorbent gets warm as it absorbs

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

, and that warming of the gas in circuit is welcome when

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

in cold water, but is not welcome in hot industrial situations including in deep mines. It was used by

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

s and by rescuers in

coalmine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

s, long before open-circuit

s based on the aqualung became common. It appeared in news images of coalmine

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...

squads. In 1908 the apparatus was chosen for use by rescuers from the newly formed

Howe Bridge Mines Rescue Station Howe Bridge Mines Rescue Station was the first mines rescue station on the Lancashire Coalfield opened in 1908 in Howe Bridge, Atherton, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Before Britain's first mines rescue station opened at ...

. These sets were used in the London fire brigade from the 1950s till the early to late 1970s, when these rebreathers were replaced by compressed air sets which use a cylinder strapped to the back of the firefighter and the air fed through a hose to the firefighter's full face mask: this is their current type of breathing apparatus. Some had a whistle that automatically sounded when its oxygen cylinder pressure became low in use. This feature was introduced following the death, in January 1958, of two London firemen at the fire that occurred at the

Smithfield Central Meat Market Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Barth ...

in central London. The first version was designed by

Fleuss Henry Albert Fleuss (13 June 1851 – 6 January 1933) was a pioneering diving engineer, and Master Diver for Siebe, Gorman & Co. of London. Fleuss was born in Marlborough, Wiltshire in 1851. In 1878 he was granted a patent which improved rebr ...

and Davis in about 1906-1910. It had equal balance back and front of the wearer, and avoided projections on the back that could catch when crawling through holes. The more vulnerable parts were in front in sight of the wearer. The reducing valve was of the constant feed type.

References

External links

*http://www.therebreathersite.nl/Zuurstofrebreathers/English/proto.htm description *http://www.therebreathersite.nl/Zuurstofrebreathers/English/photos_proto.htm images *http://www.therebreathersite.nl/05_Reviews/SiebeGormanProto.htm Description of Proto, with many big images, and its user handbook {{DEFAULTSORT:Proto Rebreathers Firefighting equipment Industrial breathing sets Rescue Mine safety