With the risk of cancer and other serious illnesses a concern for all firefighters, it’s become more important than ever to reduce your exposure to contaminants on the fireground.  

Studies show that soot and smoke are filled with dangerous contaminants. Those contaminants affect firefighters in three ways: they can be breathed in, absorbed through the skin, or even ingested if your hands or face aren’t properly cleaned and you eat or drink after.  

Firefighters should work to reduce their exposure to fireground contamination. These contaminants will inevitably end up on your gear and your skin, so it’s important to take concrete steps to protect you, your gear, and others who might be exposed to contaminants you bring into an area (e.g., the fire department, your home). 

Preliminary Exposure Reduction 

Any firefighter looking to reduce exposure to contaminants should become familiar with NFPA 1851 guidelines. These guidelines (which in 2025 will be consolidated with other guidelines into NFPA 1850) make recommendations for gear cleaning and maintenance.  

The first step to any gear cleaning program begins on the fireground, or more accurately, just outside the fireground.  

Preliminary exposure reduction (you may have heard it referred to as “gross decon” in the past) is the most effective way to limit your exposure to contaminants.  

While still on air, use either wet or dry mitigation (i.e., either with water and a brush or just a brush) to rinse off and/or scrub down your gear. Wet mitigation alone can reduce the level of contaminants on your gear by up to 85%.  

Doff your PPE carefully to minimize exposure, taking care to avoid contact as much as possible. Place your gear into a plastic bag (expert tip: use at least a 2-mil bag made of clear plastic, not a black bag, to store gear. A black plastic bag could easily be mistaken for a trash bag—we’ve heard of departments making costly mistakes when they throw them out).  

Put the plastic bag with your gear somewhere outside the cab of your truck in a designated compartment—never inside, where it can contaminate you, your fellow firefighters, and the cab itself—and then follow your department’s procedures for sending your gear for cleaning.  

Proper Cleaning 

While proper cleaning is out of the hands of most firefighters, it’s important to note that you should never take your gear home to wash it. Not only are household washing machines more likely to damage your gear, you’ll also be putting anyone else in your house at risk of unnecessary exposure.  

Instead, either utilize your department’s industrial-sized washer/extractor or send to a NFPA 1851 verified Independent Service Provider (ISP) or cleaner.  

Cleaning PPE is a highly specialized process that involves specialized equipment. A good NFPA 1851 verified ISP or cleaner will work with you to determine what types of contaminants you were exposed to and recommend options based on that.  

Generally, gear will go through a specialized extractor at a specific temperature and pressure to remove as many contaminants as possible. Other methods are available, depending on the level of contamination, from CO2 cleaning to ultrasonic cleaning for SCBAs.  

An NFPA 1851 verified ISP can also provide inspection and repair services to make sure that your gear is cleaned and fighting fit. 

PPE Storage 

While it’s important to clean your gear, it’s also important to reduce exposure to the gear itself and to reduce your gear’s exposure to other contaminants.  

While modern gear cleaning methods are incredibly effective, nothing can completely remove 100% of every harmful contaminant that you come into contact with. Verified ISPs or cleaners are only required to remove a certain percentage of contaminants. For instance, they must remove, on average, 50% of a group of six heavy metals.  

That means that while clean gear is much safer (note that ISPs generally aim for well above that 50% removal rate), it can still contain dangerous contaminants, and you should limit your exposure to your turnout gear when possible.  

That’s where storage comes in. According to NFPA 1851 guidelines, PPE should always be stored away from living and communal areas, especially sleeping quarters.  

It’s also important to store gear in a way that doesn’t increase the gear’s risk of damage or picking up additional contaminants. Gear should be stored in enclosed lockers away from sunlight (UV rays can weaken gear’s effectiveness). It should also be stored away from trucks or other places where it can be exposed to diesel fumes.  

Alternative PPE 

Another way to reduce exposure to your turnouts is to simply not wear them.  

While you should obviously always wear turnouts to a structural fire, you don’t necessarily need them for non-structural calls. It might seem easier to don your turnouts for a car accident call, but that can increase your exposure to anything that might be in your gear.  

That’s why so many departments are using different levels of PPE for every call, matching the level of protection with what’s required.  

By choosing alternative PPE, you limit your exposure risk and make sure your turnouts are there when you need them—not damaged in an elevator rescue or so soaked in a water rescue that they need to dry out.  

It also means you have more time to get your turnouts properly cleaned between calls. You shouldn’t have to worry about responding to a gas leak while your turnouts are out of commission. 

And if you do need a set of turnouts to cover the difference, renting turnouts is another great way to ensure that you always have the protection you need when you need it.  

Reduce Your Contaminant Exposure 

By properly cleaning your gear and using the right levels of protection, you will drastically reduce your exposure to potentially harmful contaminants.  

Reducing your exposure means that you, your department, and your family will be safer!