Posts Tagged NFPA considers better hoods

Cancer in the fire service (more)

Feb 3

Posted by Admin in Cancer in the fire service | Comments off

NFPA has issued a firefighter protective hood safety bulletin as the fire service grapples with PPE contaminants and increases in job-related cancer.
Firefighters and their PPE are exposed to a wide range of toxins. According to a study by the CDC and NIOSH, firefighters have a higher chance of developing more than a dozen different cancers than the general population.

Firefighter thermal/flame protective hoods do not stop soot and chemicals from depositing on areas that are extremely vulnerable to dermal exposure. The hoods are designed to protect a firefighter’s head and neck, but they are not built to prevent toxins from being absorbed into a firefighter’s skin. The greatest number of carcinogens enter a firefighter’s body through the lungs; with the skin being the second most concerning access route. Furthermore, if the hoods are not properly cleaned, the toxins will linger in the hoods and rub against the firefighter’s skin.
NFPA is currently working on three research projects related to contamination, PPE and cancer. In the meantime, the protective hood bulletin recommends that fire departments educate personnel on PPE care and maintenance in accordance with NFPA 1851, the Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting.

ProtectiveHoodBulletin to keep firefighters safer from carcinogens and hazardous substances. For additional information, visit NFPA’s PPE cleaning page.

Tags: cancer in the fire service, firefighter hoods and cancer, NFPA 1971, NFPA considers better hoods, protecting firefighters from carcinogens

Cancer in the fire service (more)

Jan 10

Posted by Admin in Cancer in the fire service | Comments off

Excerpts from wtvr.com:

A Richmond fire chief battling stage four cancer is using journey, and the journey of his new scooter, to spread a critical message to firefighters across the country.

Battalion Chief David “Chico” Creasy said his chemotherapy treatments have severely limited his mobility since his cancer diagnosis in 2014. Richmond Firefighter Roger Myers knows the realities of cancer intimately, so he devised a plan to help Chief Creasy. He lost his father to cancer in December, so he decided to give him his father’s scooter.

“[My dad] built a bond of friendship with Battalion Chief Creasy while the two battled cancer,” Myers said. “[My dad] expressed that if he ever lost his battle, he wanted his friend Chico to have anything he could provide to help him continue his.”

Myers arranged the largest bucket brigade ever to deliver the scooter from Florida to Richmond. Dozens of fire departments in five states have signed on to help transport it, but the firefighters helping out will also receive a message from Creasy.

“The more we got to talking about it, the more we realized this was a platform to spread Chico’s message to the fire service,” Myers said.

“When you’re battling the fire, you also have to realize you’re battling a lot of toxic materials,” Creasy said. “[and] need to be more aware about how we can get cancer, what we can do to avoid it.”

Creasy said he has no family history of cancer, so his doctors believe his 48 years battling fires likely led to his illness. He points to studies that have found firefighters are exposed to up 50,000 toxins or carcinogens when responding to a structure fire and hopes every firefighter helping his new scooter along the way will research the cancer risks they face on a daily basis.

His doctors say he is doing better than most patients in his circumstance. Creasy credits that, in part, to the support of he has gotten from firefighters across the country.

The financial challenges of cancer are also impacting Creasy’s journey. He said he pays thousands of dollars out of pocket each month to pay for treatments not covered by his insurance. It is one reason Creasy urges all firefighters to explore their cancer insurance options.

On top of the scooter, Myers set up a Pay Pal account to help the family pay for medical expenses.

You can track the scooter’s journey of Facebook; it’s expected to arrive in Richmond on January 12.

Tags: Battalion Chief David “Chico” Creasy, cancer in the fire service, firefighter hoods and cancer, NFPA 1971, NFPA considers better hoods, protecting firefighters from carcinogens, Richmond Firefighter Roger Myers

Cancer in the fire service (more)

Jun 5

Posted by Admin in Cancer in the fire service, Fire Service News | Comments off

Excerpts from FireRescue1.com:

In February 2014 we wrote that protective hoods are the most vulnerable area of the firefighter’s ensemble. That’s because hoods lack any type of barrier characteristics to keep out the superfine particles that absorb a variety of hazardous chemicals including carcinogens.

This shortcoming was coupled with NIOSH studies and other research showing carcinogen buildup on firefighters’ skin, particularly on the neck and face areas unprotected by the SCBA face piece. Further, that skin absorbs chemicals easily around a person’s jaw line led to the obvious conclusion that current-day hoods have little effectiveness in keeping out soot.

In January 2015, we assisted the IAFF with a study to show how much particle penetration takes place throughout the entire structural firefighting ensemble. After that, there could be no doubt that the hood is one of the serious gaps in firefighter protection that needs to be solved.

An overwhelming number of firefighter hoods consist of two layers of knit material fashioned into a sock-like hood that stretches over the firefighter’s head with an opening for the SCBA face piece and bib that is supposed to stay tucked inside under the top of the coat.

The current requirements in NFPA 1971 considers hoods an interface device for providing thermal protection in areas where other ensemble elements do not always provide complete coverage, such as the SCBA face piece, helmet ear covers and coat collar. Yet as the firefighter moves, the hood shifts and leaves the interface areas exposed to the hostile environment.

When the revision process for the NFPA 1971 standard began, a specific task group was charged to come up with possible ways for minimizing firefighter exposure to the carcinogens and other harmful substances contained in soot. One way to achieve complete particle blockage could be to install a moisture barrier as part of the hood composite, similar to the way garments use the same barrier materials.

The increased layering of the hood and the further encapsulation of the head pose additional stress to an already physiologically challenged ~~first responder~~ firefighter. We therefore suggested that a total heat-loss test be applied to these newly reinforced portions of the hood at levels far above those required for garment composites. In this way, the maximum amount of heat stress relief could be provided without compromising the particle holdout capabilities of the new hoods.

These proposed requirements will not be adopted in one form or another until mid-2017. Meanwhile, several manufacturers and fabric suppliers have been working on prospective hood products to reduce firefighter exposure to soot and the adsorbed chemicals contained in smoke particles. These products encompass a variety of new hood designs and combinations of different barrier materials, including both new particle filter layers as well as conventional moisture barriers.

All of the new products, many unveiled this past spring, are certified to current requirements in NFPA 1971 as regular hoods. The new particle barrier hood criteria are not finished. As would be expected, the new hood products are more complex, use new materials and are consequently more expensive. The fact that these hoods are more costly means that fire departments will expect the hoods to stay in service longer.

This brings into question the hoods’ durability over an extended period with multiple cleanings and how well the particle-blocking capability and relative fit will be maintained. And since the new hoods incorporate an additional layer, they are also somewhat heavier and will have higher thermal insulation than conventional hoods. The greater levels of heat protection means firefighters will perceive heat to a lesser degree than the already do, which can be good or bad depending on how firefighters are trained to react to heat.

The industry still has to work out these issues, particularly as the new version of NFPA 1971 comes to fruition. In minimizing exposure to carcinogens, PPE use is only one of several approaches needed to solve this problem.