Patent ID: 8505171

Claim:
A quick release apparatus for a rescue worker's waist belt for connecting to and rapidly disconnecting from a self-contained breathing apparatus waist belt, the rescue worker's waist belt including a right strap portion and a left strap portion, the self-contained breathing apparatus waist belt including a right waist strap portion having a right buckle member disposed at its end and a left strap waist strap portion having a left buckle member disposed at its end, said quick release apparatus comprising: a right buckle member belt affixed to the right strap portion of the rescue worker's waist belt, said right buckle member being complementary to the self-contained breathing apparatus waist belt right buckle member; a left buckle member belt affixed to the right strap portion of the rescue worker's waist belt, said left buckle member being complementary to the self-contained breathing apparatus waist belt left buckle member; wherein connection of the rescue worker's waist belt and the self-contained breathing apparatus entails buckling the complementary right and left buckle members of the rescue worker's waist belt and the self-contained breathing apparatus, and rapid release of the self-contained breathing apparatus waist belt from the rescue worker's entails unbuckling the complementary right and left buckle members of the rescue worker's waist belt and the self-contained breathing apparatus, thereby allowing the wearer to entirely remove the self-contained breathing apparatus from his or her body while leaving the rescue worker's waist belt and any accoutrements attached thereto in place and on his or her person.