As of September 1, 2013, standard firefighter breathing equipment cannot be certified to NFPA standards unless facepiece lenses pass test developed by NIST. Said test is designed to reduce degradation and possible failure of facepiece lens in SCBA under high-heat firefighting conditions. Incorporated within 2013 update of its standard for SCBA units, new Elevated Temperature Heat and Flame Resistance Test exposes SCBA to 500°F for 5 min in oven followed by 10 sec of direct flame contact.
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