National Firefighter Health Week - Day 2 - Respond Strong, Put It On

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"Respond Strong - Put It On" is the theme for the second day of National Firefighter Health Week, which is presented by the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) and runs from August 16 - August 20, 2010.  This topic focuses not only on the safety reasons for wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), but the important health reasons for doing so as well.

Director of Communications for the National Volunteer Fire Council, Kimberly Ettinger, claims that one of the NVFC's health and safety priorities is to make sure that fire departments provide and require the full use of PPE for their personnel to keep them healthy and safe. "Personal protective equipment is vital. The safety of the firefighter, their short and long term health, is very much driven by how they use their personal protective equipment," states Franklin Pratt, MD, with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

According to Battalion Chief Dan Ertel with the Equipment Development Committee for Los Angeles County Fire Department, sharing equipment between first responders is not a safe or acceptable practice. Every firefighter needs to have their own set of personal protective equipment (PPE) including turn-out boots, pants, coat, helmet, protective hood, gloves and an SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus).

Los Angeles County Fire Department's Wellness and Fitness Coordinator, Captain Kevin Klar, expresses the importance of PPE being kept clean when he says, "They can be a catch basin for different various diseases, and so if we're not cleaning them regularly and using them appropriately, we are going to expose ourselves to things we shouldn't be exposed to." After a fire, firefighters should always do a simple cleaning of their equipment with a garden hose to get the contaminants off the gear. Equipment should also be occasionally sent to a licensed cleaner to be inspected and cleaned to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.

Captain Klar remarks, "Dirty is not necessarily good. It looks good. It looks like you're well-used, but it's not healthy. We are trying to change that culture in the fire service so that our folks know that fresh and clean means healthy. It means protective."

PPE should not be kept on the apparatus floor due to diesel exhaust fumes becoming embedded in the fibers. Mike Dubron, Firefighter/Paramedic for Los Angeles County Fire Department and President of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, explains the health risks of this situation when he says, "Diesel exhaust is a benzine, again another known carcinogen that causes cancer, so if your fire department or your fire station has diesel exhaust removal systems, you should be using them 100% of the time."

When firefighters are working, it is crucial to keep PPE on the rig, and when they are not working, that they are kept away from any exhaust. Keeping them away from direct sunlight is also important because sunlight degrades the personal protective part of the gear.

All parts of a firefighter's personal protective equipment are important. Health-wise, the most crucial piece of gear is the face piece, and unfortunately, that is the part that usually comes off first. "One of the things that we understand now is the importance of wearing your PPE throughout the entire phase of firefighting and that includes overhaul, where there's still many carcinogens in the air that if we are unprotected, which are ingesting or absorbing into our bodies and these carcinogens are known links to cancer," states Firefighter/Paramedic Dubron.

Personal protective equipment should not just be thought of as something to wear.  Vaccinations should also be considered. "In the 21st century, there's a much deeper appreciation of inhaled particulate matter and its affect on the cardiovascular system. Exposure to contagious, communicable and infectious disease is only going get worse and not get better; therefore, we strongly push the use of biological PPE for our firefighters," says Franklin Pratt, MD.

New research and technology are making PPE better all the time. Battalion Chief Ertel claims that he is expecting to see lighter material that breathes better for firefighters in the future. He adds, "There's really a balance there between protecting the firefighter and also making sure that they have the proper breathing ability so they don't overheat."

According to Kimberly Ettinger, if fire departments are having trouble funding PPE for their entire agency, they can apply for Assistance to Firefighters Grants through the Department of Homeland Security. The application period for Assistance to Firefighters Grants lasts for about a month and is usually in the Spring. For more information, please visit www.firegrantsupport.com.

Contributors to this story:
Barbara Brooks - Video Reporter
Ann Zevely - Video Editor
Renee Marquart - Text Story

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Author:B. Brooks, A. Zevely and R. Marquart - FDNNTV.com