Derry Township firefighters invest in equipment washer, aim to reduce cancer risk

Derry Township firefighters have taken a step toward cancer prevention, purchasing a washing machine to better clean their gear.

The $30,000 gear washer was installed last week at Derry Township Volunteer Fire Department No. 1 in Bradenville. It will help the station’s 38 firefighters clean their self-contained breathing apparatus devices without further exposing themselves to the cancer-causing carcinogens they encounter while tackling fires, Chief Mark Piantine said.

“Growing up, fires weren’t like they are today,” said Piantine, who has served in the department for decades. “Now, you have all this insulation. Houses are all buttoned up tight. Your couches are made of different materials.”

Cancer is the leading cause of death among firefighters, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. They have a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer than the general U.S. population — and a 14% higher risk of dying from the disease, according to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.

Skin transfer is one of the main culprits. Until now, Derry’s volunteer firefighters had to hand-wash their breathing devices, resulting in a less effective cleaning and additional skin contact with the cancer-causing chemicals.

Firefighters would douse the devices with a pump sprayer before scrubbing them down with a brush in a bucket of hot water, Piantine said.

“Once you’re decontaminated,” he said, “you recontaminate it with the dirty water.”

“We wash our gear,” he continued. “We have a hose machine to wash our hose. We wash our trucks. We wash our bodies when we’re done, but we never had a good wash for our air packs.”

Technology on the rise

The technology has been around for a few years, said Scott Lasenby, vice president of new product development at Circul-Air Corp., the company that designed Derry’s washer. But it is starting to become more common among fire stations.

Circul-Air first launched its washers about three years ago. It has since installed three machines throughout Pennsylvania, Lasenby said, and two European companies are selling similar products in the United States.

The Oakmont Volunteer Fire Department aims to obtain a grant to purchase its own washer, said Chief Joe Flanick.

“Guys put their lives on the line in the big picture of it all,” he said, “but they also put it on the line in the background, with all the carcinogens that are burning.”

A handful of the department’s retired firefighters have died from some form of cancer in the past four years, Flanick said.

“Anything you can do to take that dirt off your equipment that will be touching you is definitely a pro,” he said.

Greensburg, Hempfield benefiting from washers

Greensburg’s and Hempfield’s volunteer fire departments have invested in the technology in recent years.

All six of Greensburg’s fire stations bought their own washers about two or three years ago, Chief Tom Bell said. Each machine cost about $20,000 to $30,000.

“You can’t put a price on a person’s life,” Bell said.

Derry’s washer was purchased through 2024 funds from the state’s Local Share Account, which takes a portion of revenue from Live! Casino Pittsburgh and distributes it to the state and local communities. Derry Township supervisors and state Rep. Leslie Rossi, R-Unity, helped secure the funding for the fire station, Piantine said.

Various state grants and funding from organizations such as the Virginia-based Gary Sinise Foundation also can help fire departments fund the machines, Lasenby said.

The machines look and function like a dishwasher, cleaning firefighters’ breathing apparatus devices, boots, gloves and helmets in eight- to 12-minute cycles.

“It’s a huge, huge, huge thing,” Bell said, “especially with cancer and cancer presumption and trying to keep your firefighters safe.”

Pennsylvania passed the Firefighters’ Cancer Presumption Act in 2011, allowing firefighters with cancer to file for workers’ compensation.

Hempfield’s Adamsburg station installed a washer in July 2022. The recently renovated North Hempfield station received a machine in October.