San Diego County fire chiefs and representatives from fire agencies will gather Tuesday to speak about the potential risks posed by personal protective equipment — called turnouts — that firefighters are required to wear.
According to the group, since 1971, the National Fire Protection Association standard for firefighter personal protective equipment has included per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances — also known as "forever chemicals," because they are persistent in the environment and in the human body and don't break down easily.
PFAS can be found in all three layers of turnout gear used by firefighters and these chemicals can be inhaled, absorbed and ingested. The World Health Organization has found sufficient evidence to classify occupational firefighting as a group 1 carcinogenic, a statement from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department read.
Over the past decade, 152 SDFD firefighters have been diagnosed with occupational cancer.
"It would be impossible to remove all cancer exposure risk in one fell swoop; however, incremental steps to reduce risks are important," said SDFD Fire Chief Colin Stowell. "The agencies in our region are committed to following research guidelines and doing everything we can to keep our firefighters healthy and free from cancer."
Fire agencies are currently looking for alternative turnouts that provide necessary protection and do not contain PFAS. In the meantime, "it is the position of all fire departments in the county of San Diego that turnouts be used only for firefighting and not for fundraisers, community events or other non-essential activities," the SDFD statement reads.
The next fundraising event in our region is the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, presented by the San Diego Firefighter Relief Association, which also supports this position. While the turnout gear has traditionally been used at this event, beginning this year turnouts will not be worn at the stair climb.
