“There’s a proven link of what we’re exposed to in fires and cancer in firefighters,” said Fairfield Deputy Fire Chief Tom Wagner. “There’s a big push now to decontaminate gear, getting firefighters out of gear when they’re on the scene, bagging it up, bringing it back so that we’re not unnecessarily exposed any longer to all the toxins that are in our gear."
The machines are designed to extract the carcinogens, substances that can cause cancer, out of the turnout gear.
The city has between 80 and 85 sets of turnout gear, and one set is issued for each firefighter. The fire department, which has three stations, tries to maintain 18 total firefighters on 24-hour duty shift.
“Years ago we used to pride ourselves on having a sooty face,” said Fairfield Fire Chief Don Bennett. “Now they’re saying that’s leading to absorption in the skin and cancer.”
And firefighters giving old turnout gear to children or grandchildren is now not recommended. Bennett said there’s a study that indicates residual carcinogens are likely still in the gear “and you don’t want to the kids playing with it.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
According to the National Fire Protection Association, there is “a growing body of research and data” showing that job-related exposures contribute to chronic illnesses, like cancer and heart disease. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted two studies recently focusing on firefighter cancer. It concluded firefighters face a 9 percent increase in cancer diagnoses than the general United States public and a 14 percent increase in cancer-related deaths.
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society said the risk of cancer among firefighters is because modern homes and buildings contain many synthetic and plastic materials. Those materials create more smoke than natural materials when burning, thus releasing several types of carcinogens, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which exposure to some PAHs can cause cancer.
The society also said there are other types of known carcinogens, like asbestos and diesel exhaust, that can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
Wearing the personal protective equipment, including self-contained breathing apparatus, will offer protection and lessen exposure, but it’s not 100 percent protection, according to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Toxic chemicals can penetrate turnout gear.
Federal and state legislators have worked to pass bills to support firefighters who develop cancer directly attributed to their job.
Wagner said many states, including Ohio in 2016, have passed presumptive cancer legislation, so firefighters diagnosed with certain types of cancer have the ability to receive benefits, including disability retirements. President Donald Trump signed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act into law in July 2018 that requires the U.C. Center for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and maintain a voluntary registry of firefighters in order to collect history and occupational information that can be used to determine the incidence of cancer among firefighters.
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