Training with a protective mask has become more and more important each day within the law enforcement/correctional fields. Often during training with a protective mask your training sessions can be limited to the environment you are training in. Limited vision, breathing difficulty, phobias, are all problems that arise when wearing a protective mask.
Here are some examples of oxygen deprivation, and vision impairment drills you can do.
Vision Impairment Simulations:
Peripheral Impaired Vision
· Using ¼ masking tape put a boarder around the lens of your mask — This will get the wearer used to the reduced peripheral vision you get when you wear a protective mask. Remember your single full face lens will give you a different field of vision then your split face lens.
High Humidity and Moisture Simulations:
· Using a small amount of KY gel place on the outside front of the lens in little circles until the front of the lens is covered. Do not use Vaseline (avoid oil type properties on your mask). Then take spray bottle filled with clean drinking water and spray across the front of the lens — this creates a high humidity and moisture impaired vision to the mask wearer.
Smoke Impaired Environment:
· Using a small amount of KY gel place on the outside front of the lens in little circles until the front of the lens is covered.
Shell Shock (Extreme Cold to Hot or vice a versa) Impaired Environment:
· Using a cooler half way filled with ice, place a dry towel over the ice giving it a barricade, then place the mask face down on a dry cloth face lens down on the towel. Then cover the cooler wait 5 minutes. Then when your drill is starting hand the protective mask to the wearer and has them don the mask. Their mask will immediately fog up giving the wearer the fogging impaired vision when going from hot or cold or cold to hot environments.
