Abstract: Safety equipment is described for use by firemen which includes an air tank (42, FIG. 2), a harness (14), a face mask (16), and a PASS (personal alert safety system 20), which assures that the PASS will be activated whenever the equipment is worn. The equipment includes a switch system with at least one switch (31-35) mounted on the equipment at a position to receive force as the equipment is mounted on the fireman, to set or actuate the PASS. The switch (31-34) can sense the force of the equipment against the fireman's body, and/or the switch (35) can sense buckling of a harness belt (48).

Abstract: A nose clip is provided, which can be constructed at low cost and which can be smoothly operated to comfortably close noses of different sizes. The clip includes a frame (12, FIG. 1 ) with a pair of largely vertical bars (14, 16) having nose-squeezing lower ends (20, 22), middles (34, 36) that are pivotally connected, and upper ends (30, 32). A first bar has a pawl (52) on its upper end and the second bar carries a toothed beam (54) that is engaged by the pawl to prevent the upper ends from moving together to thereby keep the lower ends in the nose-squeezing position. The arm middles are connected by an integrally molded flexible and resilient crossbeam (40), and the pawl and toothed beam are integrally molded with the rest of the frame. A person uses the clip by placing pads (24, 26) lying on the lower ends of the bars, against opposite sides of his nose and squeezing the lower ends of the bars until his nose is comfortably closed, at which time one tooth of the multi-toothed beam will engage the pawl.

Abstract: A cable retraction system is described which includes a windup reel (16) and power springs (24, 26, 28) that urge the reel to turn and wind up a signal-carrying cable (20). An outer end (25) of each power spring is bent about 180.degree. to form a hook that projects through a slot (72) in a windup drum (36) of the reel. A screw (44) projects through a lug (38) at the end of a cable wire, through a hole (71) in the spring, and into a threaded insert (50) set in the windup drum. A stationary axle (30) at the center of the reel, comprises a dielectric body (71) and a plurality of conductors (73, 75, 77) embedded in the body, each conductor having an outer end (58, 60, 62) at the end of the body to connect to wires of a second cable, and each conductor having an inner end (74, 76, 78) lying at the periphery of the axle and attached to an inner end ( 32) of a spring.