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Steltek t1_jckchsg wrote

I've talked with some firefighters about this. They've told me there aren't suitable nontoxic alternatives. You can be safe from the fire or you can be safe from your PPE but not both. This article seems to indicate the standards were set so high as to exclude the nontoxic methods.

For the firefighters more cognizant of the risks, they don't fully dress until they need the protection the suits offer (entering the building, knocking down stuff, etc). This probably varies by unit and town.

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Sean_Dubh t1_jckktgc wrote

Exactly. Good luck fighting a modern fire in a blanket lined, rubberized nomex trench coat with hip boots like we did until the 90’s.

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IphtashuFitz t1_jcm1xcq wrote

Especially considering the growing range of chemicals that they have to do battle with. From the foam in residential furniture & beds to an endless range of chemicals stored in warehouses to electric vehicles and so on, the range of chemicals they're exposed to over the course of their careers is huge...

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TheSausageKing t1_jcleq0d wrote

I don't think people understand how widely used PFASs are. They're almost in every waterproof jacket you can buy. Even ones that say "no PTFE" they just use a technically different but very similar chemical which is likely just as bad.

It's also in a lot of dental floss, skincare products, take out food packaging, non-stick pans, etc. it’s impossible to avoid completely.

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Maplefolk t1_jcl6uyl wrote

The information about how toxic the PPE is really became well known in the occupation within the last decade, within it becoming more of a polarizing point just in the past few years. This is kind of a recent issue, it's no surprise there are people who want to see changes made while still maintaining safety. Maybe it means more oversight to ensure that the chemicals are less able to be leached into skin, or less likely to off gas, or maybe it means better researching the minimum amount of chemical required, whatever.. but just because it's a necessary evil that must be used that doesn't mean there can't be better ways to oversee it's use.

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Unstablemedic49 t1_jcm4siq wrote

On our FD we were our gear for a lot of shit.. not just fires. We wear gear to motor vehicle accidents, rescues, hazardous materials, all fire alarm activations, gas leaks, collapses and much more because there’s no alternative.

Things we don’t wear gear to is medical emergencies, CO alarms, wires down, services calls, mundane stuff.

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Constructestimator83 t1_jcls7c9 wrote

This is kind of the sad truth. I remember getting issued my asbestos gloves in the army for changing machine gun barrels. Sometimes you have to pick the lesser of two evils and sometimes you just don’t have a choice.

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