ORANGE — The Orange Fire Department has teamed with the Orange American Legion to reduce the occurrence of job-related cancer among firefighters.
Ed Bezio, president of the Building Association of the Orange American Legion Post 172, presented a $10,000 check to the OFD Friday morning to purchase and install an extractor. Essentially a commercial-grade, heavy-duty washing machine, it is used specifically to clean the firefighters’ protective gear, and is considered an important step to help prevent cancer.
Firefighter, EMT and Orange Training Conductor James Hopkins spearheaded the effort to get the machine.
“Unfortunately, it’s part of our job,” said Hopkins, “The cancer rate is higher among firefighters than the general population.”
He listed statistics, citing diseases firefighters are at an increased risk of: testicular cancer (102 percent); multiple myeloma (53 percent); non-Hodgkin lymphoma (51 percent); skin cancer (39 percent); brain cancer (32 percent); prostate cancer (28 percent); stomach cancer (22 percent) and colon cancer (21 percent).
Hopkins said the Boston Fire Department conducted a study which stated one reason cancer diagnoses are up among firefighters is that they are fighting modern homes and businesses full of synthetics, plastics and chemicals that can explode much faster and coat firefighters in toxic soot.
Chief James Young said it has been found that cancers contracted by firefighters are often “the bad ones, such as deeply embedded tumors.”
Hopkins, who has been in the fire service for 16 years (six with Orange), said that while there is awareness, the budget never included safety equipment. He said the project, in the works for about seven or eight months, sprung from reading alarming articles about the subject.
“The statistics listed were basically how we operated in the Orange,” he said, noting a study by the Boston Fire Department. “I’m looking around and see we have a young department, members with children. We are focused toward the future of the Orange Fire Department.”
The firefighters said recent studies show firefighters are 9 percent more likely to contract cancer and 14 percent more likely to die from it than the rest of the country’s population. Although firefighters wear state-of-the-art protective clothing and breathing apparatus, carcinogens become airborne during a fire, adhering to this protective equipment leading to absorption into the bloodstream through the skin. These carcinogens accumulate and can be absorbed over an extended period of time.
“These carcinogens are also brought home to our families,” said Lt. Jason Rushford, president of the Orange Fireman’s Association.
The solution to this problem is regular cleaning of protective clothing following manufacturer’s recommendations using a commercial-grade extractor built specifically for this purpose. These machines are costly, preventing many fire departments from installing them.
It is recommended that firefighters shower immediately after a structure fire and wash their protective clothing. That is not always an option. When the gear is sent out for cleaning, not only is it costly, it takes two to three weeks to get it back, especially if hazardous materials were involved. The department does not have backup sets of gear. Rushford said sets can cost from $2,500 to $3,000 each, based on options and manufacturer. The National Fire Protection Association standard is replacement every 10 years.
“Right now, the guys are wearing their gear to three, four or five fires before cleaning,” said Hopkins.
Having the extractor in house will result in a significant cost-savings, he said. He noted the department plans to keep baby wipes on all the trucks so the firefighters can quickly wipe their faces and hands until they get back to the fire station to shower.
Hopkins said he had been thinking about ways to clean the gear when the department was approached by members of the American Legion asking, “How can we help?” Hopkins put together a packet of information about the extractor and what was needed for installation and dropped it off to Bezio.
“When they handed me the check this morning, it gave me the chills,” said Hopkins, “It’s huge. Such a large amount of money. To us, this will save lives in the long run, or at least cut down on the chances of future firefighters of getting cancer.”
An electrician and plumber will be hired for the hook-up, and the extractor will be ordered. It is expected it will be installed in about a month.
“We thank the Orange Legion for this generous donation providing a vital piece of equipment for the health and safety of our firefighters,” said Young.
Over recent years, the American Legion has donated more than $7,000 to the ambulance fund, funded the Police Department’s K-9 team and, most recently, donated $7,000 to purchase new American flags for the town.