Firehouse Subs Foundation award coincides with inaugural Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month
It used to be cool to have a little bit of grime on a firefighter’s gear, but Pelham’s Fire Chief said that isn’t the case anymore.
“We used to put our bunker gear back on the rack with some dirt still on it,” Chief Bob Lymburner said.
But as knowledge has evolved about the risks related to protective clothing picking up a range of highly toxic contaminants, Lymburner said it’s important that firefighters wash their protective clothing to remove the carcinogens that remain on it after fighting a blaze.
With regular cleaning, Lymburner said the short- and long-term risks associated with wearing dirty and contaminated clothing are reduced.
Thanks to $35,775 in funding from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, the Pelham Fire Department purchased two new washer extractor units for Pelham Fire Station 1 in Fonthill and Station 3 in North Pelham.
While the units have already been installed at both fire stations, Town staff and representatives stopped by Fire Station 1 on Thursday, Jan. 11, to celebrate the grant.
Purvang Patel, who owns the Welland Firehouse Subs location, and his wife, Vibha Patel, presented the Chief with a ceremonial cheque.
Lymburner described the old unit at the Highway 20 station as a “40-year-old tin box” that needed to be replaced. The second unit at Station 3 will fill a critical need as there wasn’t a machine there previously.
“The new units are far more efficient than the old ones and do a much better job of cleaning the gear,” he said.
Mayor Marvin Junkin expressed his gratitude for the grant and said the new washer units are a welcome addition to the fire department.
“Each year, the more than 90 volunteer firefighters in Pelham respond to more than 700 calls including vehicular collisions, medical, mutual aid and fire calls,” he said. “Following these calls, firefighters may need to decontaminate their personal protective equipment to reduce exposure to chemicals that can travel through the air and smoke.”
The small gathering was timely as Canada is celebrating Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month this January for the first time to highlight the risks associated with the job.
The World Health Organization’s specialized cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, declared firefighting as a Group 1 carcinogen risk in June 2022.
The designation recognizes that the job comes with the potential of certain cancers, through breathing in or ingesting toxins released in fires, as well as absorption through the skin.
Health Canada reported that between 2005 and 2016, 86 percent of occupational fatality claims for Canadian firefighters were linked to cancer.
Health Canada also stated that firefighters have a nine percent higher risk of cancer diagnosis, and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general public.
The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation was established in 2005 in the U.S. with the mission of providing funding, lifesaving equipment and educational opportunities for first responders and public safety organizations.
The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation of Canada was formed when the first Canadian Firehouse Subs restaurant opened in 2015.
In the years since its formation, the foundation has awarded 331 grants worth some $3.2 million to public safety organizations throughout Ontario.
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