Mask photographed on December 10th, 1922

Mask photographed on December 10th, 1922. Due to expanding industrialization, the number of deaths due to asphyxia was increasing steadily. Therefore, the ONSRII worked to ensure that all premises exposed to the threat of such accidents as well as all first aid stations had access to artificial respiration equipment, breathing masks, and oxygen tanks. "This was the only way to dramatically decrease the number of deaths by asphyxiation", according to the magazine Research and Inventions. René Legendre’s and Maurice Nicloux’s metallic mask was designed in this context. It was fastened to the patient with an elastic strap attached behind the head and adhered tightly thanks to its rubber seal. The ONRSII also addressed fires, responsible for suffocation, by creating a fire extinguisher competition.