Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the general population has been linked to cancer, elevated cholesterol, altered immune and endocrine response, respiratory disease, and reproductive toxicity, but PFAS exposures and health effects in firefighters are not well understood. PFAS from household items are released during fires, PFAS are in firefighter turnout gear, and PFAS are components of many aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) products used by firefighters. Older generation persistent PFAS chemicals are known to be toxic, but much less is known about the toxicity of newer generation PFAS. Firefighters have a higher level of some PFAS chemicals in their bodies than the general public, but the relative extent of exposure from fireground responses, turnout gear, and use of fluorinated AFFF and associated toxicity is not known. The proposed research will provide the information needed by the fire service to address these issues through completion of the following aims: 1) Administer a national survey on AFFF use; 2) Assess acute exposure to PFAS through fireground responses, turnout gear, and AFFF use; and 3) Evaluate acute in vitro and chronic human toxicity of PFAS exposure. <more>

To research and investigate the root causes of design, comfort, and mobility issues of firefighter personal protective clothing for the female human form. Structural and wildland firefighting turnout suits are primarily developed for the male firefighter, despite the growing number of women firefighters in the fire protection community. Women firefighters wear the same turnout suits as their male counterparts and are at a higher risk of injury and fatality due to ill-fitting PPE. An in-depth survey of female firefighters will be developed and implemented to gather the necessary and important data to highlight issues with the design, comfort, and mobility of their current turnout suit. This data will be shared and used as an awareness and education tool for PPE manufacturers and the firefighting community. Furthermore, a suggested sizing guideline will be developed to aid the user group on fit and support manufacturers as a reference guide. <more>

The Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) proposes to build on and augment research conducted from two prior DHS projects (AFG FOA FY14: “How Clean is Clean” and AFG FOA FY17: “Broadening PPE Cleaning Validation Applications”) to establish and communicate comprehensive best practices the fire service can apply to effectively clean and sanitize firefighter PPE. The purpose of this research is to lessen firefighter exposure to harmful contaminants from uncleaned or improperly cleaned PPE that improves firefighter safety and health. The principal aims for this new effort are to comprehensively identify the most effective and practical decontamination approaches for each element of the firefighter ensemble (garments, helmets, hoods, gloves, footwear, and SCBA/PASS), to create simple, easily implementable tools where fire departments can assess PPE contamination from individual structural fires and effectiveness of their internal cleaning procedures, and to fully establish metrics by which PPE material and clothing suppliers, service providers, and cleaning equipment/supply companies can improve their products and services for efficient contamination removal. <more>

Our aim is to improve the health and safety of firefighters by developing a strategy for the incorporation of appropriate contamination resistance measures in NPFA 1971 and 1851 without compromising the protection that firefighters need against fireground and environmental hazards. We will accomplish this by reviewing NFPA requirements regarding contamination resistance, assessing the impacts of contamination resistance on ensemble performance, and determining the impact of aging on contamination resistance, performance, and exposure. <more>

There is an urgent need for cost-effective, portable detection systems that can quickly and quantitatively analyze and monitor toxic and dangerous gases mixed with unwanted aerosols, such as smoke, soot, dust, mist, fog, haze, fumes in real-time. Precise sensing and detection of hazardous, toxic, and flammable gases during the event of a fire is important for the victims and firefighters to avoid the secondary disaster in the fire accident. <more>

Our overarching goal is to develop, refine, and disseminate a comprehensive, easily accessible, and effective Total Worker Health (TWH) program for wildland firefighters (WFF). <more>

Critically review and assess NFPA standards and improve system-level testing methods by investigating application and relevance to fire service and responder communities. Current material level tests outlined in NFPA standards are useful for characterizing fabrics used in protective garments; they do not capture the full system-level performance for user wear during various tasks. Full examination and range of system-level evaluations will be conducted and aid in developing an updated testing platform that firefighters can use to assess their own ensemble and support the development of a new NFPA standard. <more>

Use fire department and medical records, a questionnaire, and blood tests to identify: 1) occupational, 2) medical, and 3) lifestyle factors statistically associated with cancer incidence and mortality among Indiana career and volunteer firefighters by conducting case-control studies. Both the cancer cases and controls will be Indiana firefighters. <more>