Local fire departments working on cancer prevention

May 30--Of the millions of dollars in the city of Sanford's 2018-2019 budget, a small portion is directed to helping the city's firefighters combat cancer.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says that firefighters are 9 percent more likely to receive cancer diagnoses and 14 percent more likely to die from cancer compared to the general population. In light of that, the city is putting $47,000 in this year's budget toward equipment to improve cancer prevention.

"We all know the dangers of fighting in buildings, being around the fire," said City Manager Hal Hegwer. "But this is kind of a new thing. We want to get on the forefront of this."

The main thrust of the spending is toward three new pieces of equipment.

One of them is a washer-extractor, a washing machine that turns the drum at a higher rate to extract water, contaminants and cancer-causing carcinogens out of a firefighter's turnout gear. The city will also purchase a drying cabinet that allows for gear to be hung so warm air can circulate through the uniform, allowing for better drying. That process, according to Sanford Deputy Fire Chief Ken Cotten, will cut down uniform cleaning time to three hours, as opposed to the four to five days it currently take. Five new storage racks will also be purchased to hang gear away from living quarters.

Cotten said this new equipment will help reduce the risk of cancers for fire staff. The department is taking additional steps at the scene of a fire to clean up prior to heading back to the station, but they're not counting on that entirely.

"There's no way we can get everything," he said.

The washing machine is $11,000, the cabinet is $6,600 and the five storage racks cost a total of $17,400. The remainder of the funds, around $12,000, will be used to purchase five sets of turnout gear.

These new expenditures are not exclusive to the city fire department. Broadway Mayor Donald Andrews, who is also chair of the Lee County Fire Advisory Board, said the county's volunteer fire departments are having to take into account an additional $2,100 for each new set of pants, jacket and helmet.

"It's not going to do away with the exposure, but it will help with the safety," Andrews said. "They're trying to come up with stuff that's safer. It's not going to eliminate it, but it's going to try to get as much protection as possible. They're exposed to some bad stuff when they're going into burning buildings and even car fires, all the carcinogenics and all the stuff they're exposed to."

Fire officials are also working to educate firefighters on proper clean-up. Cotten said it goes as far as changing the culture of the profession.

"We're having to change our whole thought process, the way we used to do business," he said. "Dirty track gear meant you were one of the elite, and that's no longer the case. That's one of the thought processes that we have to get out of the heads of our firefighters now, that clean gear is better than dirty gear."

For Sanford Fire Chief Wayne Barber, the additional funds, time and effort are worth the investment.

"We're just trying to make sure our people have an active life after they leave the fire service," he said. "They can't do that a lot of times."

Reach Staff Writer Zachary Horner at 919-718-1217 and on Twitter at @Zachary_Horner.

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