State Grants Help 73 Minn. Fire Departments Stay Safe & Clean
FRIDLEY, Minn. (WCCO) -- Firefighters face dangerous risks every time they respond to a call, but the danger is so much more than the obvious.
"This is the room where we store our protective clothing," explains Fridley Fire Chief, John Berg.
He understands that smoke, noxious fumes and hazardous materials contaminate their heavy clothing known as turnout gear. It's the contamination that gets embedded in the gear's fabric that puts every firefighter at a much greater risk of cancer.
"The oral cancers, urinary and digestive cancers are much higher," Berg said. "Those are all related to the toxins we are exposed to."
The only defense is to keep a firefighter's turnout gear clean of tiny contaminants. So, departments are using specialized and expensive extraction washers to reduce the threat.
Explains Minnesota State Fire Marshal, Bruce West, "It's all about the RPM's that the washer will generate. It's going to remove the contaminants that are embedded in that turnout gear."
Berg knows that not every department in the state can afford the extractors and dryers. That's why the state fire marshal's office is pitching in.
West says the proper machines are expensive. They can be 10 or 20 times costlier than the average residential washing machine.
That's why the state's Fire Safety Account is awarding a third year of grants. This time they're totaling $600,000 and going to 73 fire departments all across the state.
"It's so important that when they are done with a fire they clean their gear and clean it frequently," said West.
Fridley is one of the fire departments to receive a grant and will soon have a better washer on the way. The department's current washer can only do a single item at a time. That's a problem when each jacket includes a quilted liner, which must be washed separately.
"The machine we are getting is a little bigger, so we'll be able to wash a couple of sets at the same time," said Berg.
Dirty gear was once a badge of honor among firefighters. Today, clean is the real secret to safety.
The Minnesota Fire Safety Account is funded with a small surcharge on everyone's home insurance policies. In the three years the program has been around, it has awarded more than $1.1 million in gear washing grants across the state.
