BGFD fights ‘forever chemicals’ gear
Cancer is a leading cause of death among firefighters. The Boca Grande Fire Department is attempting to reduce this risk by raising money for new turnout gear that is free from “forever chemicals” linked to cancer.
Most current firefighting gear contains measurable amounts of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS. The Boca Grande Fire Department has now determined the need for PFAS-free gear. They have just purchased four sets, but to get all the firefighters out of the old gear, they need 20 more at $7,200 per set, Chief C.W. Blosser said.
Back in the early 2000s, most gear didn’t have PFAS in them, District Chief Lee Cooper said. Around 2006, the manufacturer changed, and the chemical was introduced into the gear.
“The way the gear is designed to work, there’s a vapor barrier. There are different barriers in it, so they use different types of materials, and that’s how PFAS ended up in there, trying to meet those requirements for that gear to function properly,” Cooper said.
In 2022, the International Association of Firefighters began releasing information, concluding that PFAS in turnout gear were linked to cancer.
“It’s got those fibers in it,” Blosser said, “and then we wear it, and they get all warmed up and hot, and then they start absorbing that stuff through all those areas in your body that you’re wearing that on.”
Photo by Anna.
Firefighters face a nine percent increase in cancer diagnoses and a 14 percent increase in cancer-related deaths, compared to the general U.S. population, according to two large National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health studies.
“They realized that obviously cancer was prevalent, and then every manufacturer then was saying that, technically, it’s going to take them time to get rid of all the current material that they have,” Cooper said. “So, they didn’t want to switch out right away. Then they had to get under laboratory certification and all that rigmarole. So, it took time for them to get it back in the market.”
It took 30 days for the department to receive its four PFAS-free sets of gear, but at press time there were as few as three manufacturers approved to sell the new gear, so the wait time will likely only get longer. This gear wasn’t even available until very recently, and the four new sets are from Morning Pride by Honeywell, a different manufacturer than the old sets.
The Boca Grande Fire Department budgets for four new sets of gear each year, but waiting to purchase the PFAS-free gear will continue to put firefighters at risk.
Currently, there are some procedures that the department follows in order to limit exposure to these chemicals. Firefighters are not supposed to wear the gear until they arrive at a scene, which slows down the response time. They also do not train with the gear on, which limits training capabilities.
After every fire the gear needs to be cleaned, so each firefighter has two sets. The gear is also sent out to a manufacturer periodically for a detail cleaning.
“We’re doing everything,” Blosser said. “We’re running the playbook, and then all of a sudden, the very gear that we wear to protect us is hurting us.”
Internationally, adverse health risks posed by turnout gear are a relatively new concept. “Back in the day, up until five, six years ago, the dirtier your gear, the tougher you were, the better a firefighter you were,” Blosser said. “So, people were wearing dirty gear, and you were constantly exposed to it. The mindset has changed. It’s totally different now.”
