Sheltering in place? Respirators to avoid smoke inhalation

Some of us have been advised to shelter in place rather than try to evacuate. We are equipping ourselves with respirators and filters against smoke inhalation. We found these on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-550030M-Maintenance-Respirators-Medium/dp/B001564URC/ref=sr_1_3

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00142BFPC

Are these better than N95 Niosh approved disposable masks?

Not an expert here by any means! The respirator fits quite tightly to your face so you are breathing only through the filters. Here’s what a respondent on Amazon said:

Question:
Protect against smoke from forest fires?

Answer:
• People who must be outside for extended periods of time in smoky air or an ash-covered area may benefit from using a tightfitting N95 or P100 respirator to reduce their exposure. air.gov (Nobody will guarantee protection for fear of lawsuits) but since we use them for protection from organic vapors such as spray paint, this is the cartridge I would use for smoke. see less
By Dennis Stanley on October 27, 2020

Hi Carolyn. When you say “some of us have been advised to shelter in place…”, may I ask who gave this advise? When Tony Aiken was out recently doing his “defensible space” check, he also said we could shelter in place here, and commended us on our defensibility. But he was merely saying we COULD, not advising us to do so. So I’m curious as to who advised you to shelter in place?
– Eric

It was Tony Aiken, twice; once three years ago when he opined a fire would come through my property in about 20 minutes, and again a year ago when he said 2 minutes (after major vegetation removal around the house). Maybe “advised” was too strong? I do not recall his exact words.

I just checked with Nicole and she said both the P5500 and the N95s will protect from particles. :slight_smile:

Nicole recommends: P100

GVS SPR457 Elipse P100 Dust Half Mask Respirator with replaceable and reusable filters included, blue, m/l size https://a.co/d/iJDhlEg