Excerpts from fox32chicago.com:

“Cancer rates are significantly higher than that of the general public,” said Michael Oquendo, Chief of Logistics for the Chicago Fire Department. 

That’s because the smoke firefighters encounter is increasingly comprised of potentially carcinogenic chemicals from petroleum products, which stick to firefighting gear even after it’s washed with water.

Which is where a new machine comes in. It’s called a high-pressure liquid carbon dioxide cleaner.

The Chicago Fire Department is one of the first in the country to get one, and it will be used to hi-tech clean 4,200 sets of firefighting gear every three months.

The new CO2 cleaning machines are massive, weighing 27,000 pounds, and they cost between $1.5 to $2 million apiece. The first machine is being kept on Chicago’s Southwest Side at a PPE cleaning facility that contracts with the department to wash and repair uniforms.

The goal is to make the lifesaving gear safer for firefighters.

Tags: Chicago Fire Department, chicagoareafire.com, cleaning Firefighter PPE, high-pressure liquid carbon dioxide cleaner