Once, a smoke smudged face and dirty gear was the mark of a firefighter’s job well done – something worn with pride. These days, the men and women who put on the gear know those chemicals come with potentially serious health risks.
“It’s been a conversation,” Lyndeborough Fire Chief Brian Smith said in an interview at the Lyndeborough station last week. “Fifteen or 20 years ago, we didn’t know about these kinds of risks. Dirty bunker gear was a badge of honor. But we know different now.”
It’s becoming a national issue. Recently, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted two studies on the rates of cancer in firefighters, finding those in the profession are 9 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 14 percent more likely to die from the disease when compared to the general population.
The prevalence of cancer in the occupation has become pronounced enough that in 2018, President Donald Trump signed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act. This new law requires the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to maintain a voluntary registry of firefighters to collect history to compare to existing state cancer registries. The goal of the registry is to better understand the causes of cancer in firefighters.
New Hampshire hasn’t ignored the issue, either. Also in 2018, as the Cancer Registry Act was being signed into law, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law a bill easing the way for firefighters diagnosed with cancer to access worker’s compensation benefits, by making it assumed the illness is related to their profession. This bill aligned New Hampshire with the majority of other states that have a similar worker’s compensation provision for firefighters.
Today, more than ever, firefighters are being exposed to smoke containing chemicals from synthetic and plastic materials containing carcinogens. Modern homes are often built with laminate woods and stains that release harmful chemicals when they burn. And exposure to those chemicals does not stop when firefighters leave the scene. Their protective gear, even their trucks, carry it back with them.
In Lyndeborough this year, Smith said the fire department is taking steps to limit the risk to firefighters with the purchase of a ventilation system for the fire station, expected to cost $21,000, and the washing machine, expected to cost $5,000, to help remove and protect firefighters from cancer-causing contaminants.
The department has the funds for both in its capital reserve for firefighter equipment but needs March Town Meeting voters to approve the purchases.
The industrial-grade washing machine would allow firefighters to wash their protective gear. Because of its size the machine would have to be housed at the highway department, Smith said. Regulations only require gear to be washed once a year, but its become clear that is not often enough, between contaminants and the break down of the fabric which can be caused by leaving grit on the gear, Smith said.
The ventilation system would filter the air in the fire department’s bays, and purify it. The department has been looking for a ventilation system that would work with their small space, Smith said.
These two pieces of equipment, while not eliminating all the risk, will be a step forward, Smith said.
“We have these firefighters coming in, and they’re all volunteers,” he said. “It’s my job to protect them as best I can. It’s time to step up and give my guys what they need.”
Firefighters on the crew said they’ve been getting better educated about the risks of chemical remnants. Last year, the department had a training on the rising risk of cancer among firefighters, and ways to protect themselves.
“It’s important to clean your gear,” firefighter Hunter Mills said. “The materials they use in building are changing. That residue can cling to you, and then you can bring it with you. I think of it as a virus. If you bring your gear in your truck, you can pass it on to your family.”
Shane Meltzer of Lyndeborough, another firefighter with the department, said he’d never considered the risks of chemical residue until he joined the service.
“I never knew anything about it. I never even thought about it,” he said, adding he is not detoured by the additional of firefighting. “It doesn’t change it for me. … I still want to serve. I’ve just come to realize we need different equipment.”
“I know what I’m walking into,” agreed Mills. “We just need to get the right equipment and do what we can to minimize the risk.”
Town Meeting ballot voting is scheduled to take place Tuesday, March 10, at Citizen’s Hall 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. The open session of Town Meeting is planned for Saturday, March 14, at Citizen’s Hall at 10 a.m.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.