Toxic Runoff: Washing Turnout Gear And City Water Safety

By: ETD Team When firefighters return from an incident, their turnout gear is often saturated with harmful chemicals, toxins, and carcinogens picked up while combating fires. Washing turnout gear is critical for firefighters’ safety and health, but it raises an important question: where do those contaminants go? When contaminated water from washing turnout gear enters municipal sewer systems, the consequences …

Why Liquid CO2 Cleaning is Better for the Environment

By: Emergency Technical Decon Team As industries worldwide work toward sustainability, businesses are reevaluating their processes to reduce environmental impact. For sectors that rely on cleaning specialized equipment—like firefighter turnout gear, industrial machinery, or sensitive electronics—the method used c Liquid CO2 cleaning is an innovative, eco-friendly approach that not only meets high-performance standards but also minimizes harm to the environment. …

firefighters with the special flame retardant foam extinguish a fire

PFAS Firefighting Foam: An In-Depth Guide

By: The Emergency Technical Decon Team PFAS firefighting foam is a danger to both firefighters and the environment. Recently, this topic has grown in relevance as legislative considerations surrounding PFAS, including potential bans on its use, are becoming more significant. In this blog, we’ll look into the background of PFAS, explore the dangers they pose along with associated research findings, …

Dirty and fire contaminated firefighter turnout jackets hung in a row.

Can You Machine Wash Turnout Gear?

By: Emergency Technical Decon Team As firefighters and fire chiefs, ensuring the cleanliness of turnout gear is of paramount importance. Not only does clean gear enhance safety and performance, but it also plays a crucial role in mitigating the risks associated with carcinogens and toxins present in firefighting environments. If you’re here, you may be wondering if you can machine …

Firefighters lined up in turnout gear.

NFPA 1851: What It Is And Why It Matters

By: Mike Duyck, President, Emergency Technical Decon Throughout my career, I found that professionals across the fire service share a few common goals. Unmoved at the very top of the list remains the health and safety of their people – the biggest asset to each organization. Come the end of each shift, our focus is that everyone returns safely home. …

Firefighters in protective gear.

Firefighters Faced With Chemical Exposure

By: Emergency Technical Decon Team Firefighters, the fearless heroes who battle flames and protect our communities, face hidden dangers in the line-of-duty. Among these dangers is the risk of hazardous chemical exposure, many of which are classified as carcinogens.   We aim to emphasize the importance of effective prevention measures through raised awareness about the dangers firefighters face and their association …