Why a full-face mask for public safety diving?

[Akimbo]

If you have ever been so unlucky as to encounter a body that has been immersed in warm salt water for 24 - 48 hours, you will unfortunately know all about the contaminated water aspect.

Warm or cold water, 10 minutes or 48 hours, death causes the loss of bladder and bowel control which produces contamination that you do not want to expose your face to. Contamination can also take the form of hydrocarbons released when a vehicle is submerged.

This is the same reason that you see PSDs wearing drysuits in Florida.

 

[FF / EMT]

Not when you use a Kirby-Morgan or AGA FFM, the ice cold air coming in over your forehead and flowing down across your face does a wonderful job of making you ice-cold. Been there, done that - and learned my lesson.

Why is air coming in over your forehead?

If the air doesn't flow across your face the mask fogs up quickly and you now can't see what you are doing.

Have yet to have this happen w/ my AGA FFM

 

[Bowers]

Osha and nfpa want public safety divers to be fully encapsulated (drysuit, dry gloves, attached boots, dry hood, full face mask) to protect from hazards in the water. They don’t however require the use of radio comms. So with that in mind, though comms are convenient it really comes down to exposure protection from chemical or organic hazards