Excerpts from the pantagraph.com:
Bloomington’s firefighters will get a second set of turnout gear. The city council voted unanimously to award a $282,000 contract to Municipal Emergency Services of Deerfield for 100 complete sets of turnout gear.
The vote Monday followed Bloomington Fire Chief Brian Mohr explaining that the move will allow firefighters to rotate gear in and out of service for cleaning, which reduces the risk of exposure to cancer-causing residue.
“NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, reports that firefighters have a 14 percent greater chance of dying from cancer than the general public, and are twice as likely to get skin cancer, testicular cancer and mesothelioma” he said.
Research suggests that an increased exposure to known carcinogens in smoke contribute to those statistics. Having a clean set of turnout gear to wear would add to other protocols such as showers and decontaminating wipes for helmets, masks and other equipment.
