Whilst a fire can be seen or felt, the by-products of its burn create a mixture of ‘invisible’ hazardous gases, vapours and particulates, many of which carry carcinogenic properties. These present a current and ongoing serious risk to our firefighting teams.
Firefighters are exposed to such risks and can inhale, ingest or absorb noxious substances not only in live incidents but also in training and during general station activities. Various modern building materials, as well as the increasing use of synthetic materials in daily life, add further fuel to an already dangerous environment. Careless disrobing from personal protective equipment (PPE) or respiratory protection equipment (RPE) can similarly result in exposure to hazardous substances, or can further spread contaminates into service vehicles, fire stations and homes, placing not just firefighters in harm’s way but also exposing their families to the same risk. Stringent processes must be followed to mitigate these risks.
These dangers are now often referred to as an invisible risk to life, recently highlighted by the Invisible Risk Conference. The conference brought together the responder community, academia and a number of businesses, including Dräger, with a collective goal to shed light on the unseen and potentially lethal risks that demand our attention. Combating this invisible risk is a vital hurdle to jump for manufacturers, fire services and service personnel alike.
Reducing the risk of carcinogen exposure at all stages of a fire or training event requires a collaborative effort to not only create protective equipment that protects its user sufficiently during training or operational incidents but also to raise awareness of the importance of careful donning, disrobing and decontamination of a firefighter’s turnout gear, self-contained breathing apparatus and operational equipment/appliances after every use.
Enforcing training that supports such best-practice regimes and teaches the behaviours necessary to reduce the risk of contamination in a high-risk environment, is also essential to protect serving fire personnel, and support firefighters in living a long and healthy life long after their last shift has ended. It’s also important in assuring the safety of new people looking to join a critical, life-saving industry, giving them the confidence that their long-term health is not being compromised.
Cultivating a community-first approach
There has been a recent and welcome media priority placed on the risk of carcinogens within firefighting, urging manufacturers and fire services to work together to combat contamination. This is essential as a catalyst for change. Unfortunately, it also discourages some individuals from entering into the profession in the midst of a service facing challenges around the recruitment of a strong, diverse workforce.
Whilst fire services are encountering an increasing number of callouts year on year,1 the shortage of new recruits paints a worrying picture, particularly considering the increase in the scale and scope of the remit in which a firefighter now has responsibility. To remedy this, more effort must be placed in both recruitment and training of firefighters to assume the wide breadth of critical-response knowledge that they must now possess.
We must also encourage an inclusive and diverse fire service. The behaviours and actions that discourage individuals from joining the profession, like the traditional ‘macho’, ‘badge of honour’ attitude to wearing dirty kit, is now thankfully being removed from services. However, this requires supplementing with appropriate equipment, behaviours and operational procedures that reflect the make-up of the evolving nature of the public in which they serve. Furthermore, the potential exposure to contaminants and extremes such as radiation pose concerns around both fertility and pregnancy, and the physicality of the profession means that the effect of physiological ageing will be seen to have a greater impact on all individuals in their later years as they reach an expected extended retirement age.
To achieve inclusivity, Dräger has placed strong emphasis on understanding and responding to the concerns of all genders and communities. This will help brigades recruit and retain a wider pool of talent to the industry when they are needed most. Products are designed to protect all individuals and address the way that different people physically carry a load. It means ensuring that equipment is as light as possible and supports safe freedom of movement. Adjustability of equipment is also key, not only to account for firefighters’ physical requirements but also for differing environments, so that equipment can be adjusted easily, quickly and correctly, especially when every second counts. Similarly, innovative, adjustable and adaptable equipment enables the accommodation of people observing cultural or religious practices, e.g. the wearing of headwear or facial hair. However, this remains a real challenge for industry and the fire service as a whole, as it is driven by the current equipment standards and the related, but now somewhat dated, requirements and recommendations of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Putting safety first
If we are to cultivate a confident and healthy fire-service community, we have to put personal safety first at all times. This means enforcing training that encourages thorough cleaning of safety apparatus before, during and after each and every use, particularly when firefighters undertake repeated training events and may become less cautious in their approach to health and safety protocol.
Dräger’s PSS AirBoss, has been designed with decontamination in mind with smoother, non-absorbent, water-repellent surfaces to make equipment easier to wipe down and decontaminate. Reduced webbing material allows for faster drying, and numerous innovative attachment points mean kit can easily be dismantled for optimum cleaning – both mechanically and by hand.
Dräger’s BG ProAir long-duration breathing apparatus is one of the most advanced breathing systems in the world. It has components in the breathing loop designed to reduce breathing resistance and make long-term use more comfortable, providing as ‘normal’ a breathing experience as possible. The closed-circuit seal removes harmful carbon dioxide from the user’s breathing atmosphere and replaces it with an intake of cooled oxygen. Like Dräger’s PSS AirBoss, the BG ProAir set is designed with low-absorbent and liquid-repellent materials, designed to attract fewer contaminants and minimise dirt traps. It is also machine washable; the waterproof harness can be disassembled from its housing, making it even easier to clean, decontaminate and dry.
The future health of firefighters is also being advanced through the application of biometric monitoring. It has the ability to monitor a firefighter’s vital signs in real time during an incident. It is already used in the health and sport sectors but has not yet been adapted for use in the fire industry, due to challenges arising from the hostile physical scenarios firefighters are often confronted with. Dräger is working hard to ensure that this technology will soon be available as well as being accurate and reliable even in the most challenging environments. Similarly, routine health checks across all persons involved in our industry are also essential to allow us to spot health markers and related risks early. By doing so, we can ensure that the safety of every individual in the service is prioritised.
Contaminated in the first instance
Potential sources of contamination can differ, depending on whether they derive from the bodily fluids of the user or the residues and by-products of combustion that may settle on a firefighter’s PPE and RPE. The source of contamination determines whether the turnout gear needs to be sent away for specialist cleaning or if it can be processed in the fire-service workshop; therefore, it must be accurately and urgently identified prior to any decontamination or cleaning process.
Ensuring that there are clearly defined processes, divided into contaminated and clean phases, protects firefighters from exposure to substances and carcinogens that can present a hazard to their health. One consideration often forgotten is the need to ensure protection of any technicians or personnel charged with processing the post-exposure stages of cleaning, decontamination and maintenance/repair.
Cleaning regimes often apply to multiple RPE and PPE products and should be designed to be as efficient in cleaning yet as economical as possible in terms of their consumption of cleaning agents, water and energy and the production of waste water. Mechanical washing systems, such as Dräger’s range of Harstra washing machines, can also ensure that all components of a firefighter’s SCBA and associated products are thoroughly and consistently cleaned, a point where manual processes can fall down.
Essential to this process is that any cleaned equipment is dried correctly in a drying cabinet or room to remove moisture and maintain its operational function. Dräger’s ‘Respiratory Workshop’ consultancy service can help to plan, install and train staff on mechanical cleaning solutions according to the individual fire service’s needs, with additional guidance and support available to ensure that the correct process is enacted to protect from contaminates at all stages of the cleaning process.
Jumping the hurdles to progress
Preventing and reducing the risk of carcinogenic exposure is now one of Dräger’s highest priorities. Combating the invisible risk that firefighters encounter is no easy task, but we must provide them with a full suite of equipment, skills, training and expertise to ensure that they return home safe from every shift. By collectively raising awareness, enforcing measures and behaviours that enhance the operational health of fire crews, and providing them with protective equipment that is tailored towards every individual, we can achieve two essential outcomes: reducing the risk and improving the health of our firefighters. Together this helps to promote firefighting as the rewarding and inclusive career we know it to be.
For more information, go to www.draeger.com
About the Author
Brian Hesler is a Consultant and Specialist Advisor at Draeger Safety UK and former Chief Fire Officer for the Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service.
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