NFPA Journal - May/June 2017 - 32

analyzed the contents of used vacuum cleaner bags from
firehouses in California found numerous dangerous flame
retardant chemicals spread out across the living quarters.
In some firehouses, it's not uncommon to see oil slicks resting atop the pool of water in the ice machine following a
power outage.

ith contamination everywhere, the challenge of
protecting firefighters from the deadly onslaught
of chemicals is immense,
and four years ago it
would have been hard to
find anyone who would have thought
that Boston would be the department to take on such a difficult task.
For years, Boston Fire had a
well-deserved national reputation
for being stubborn, old-school, and
needlessly resistant to change, often
to the detriment of its members. In
many companies, wearing self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)
CULTURE OF CLEAN
was optional or even seen as a sign
Private donations have helped fund the installation of industrial
of weakness. Leadership didn't seem
cleaning machines and drying racks in nearly all of the city's
to value personal protection, and
34 firehouses so that potentially deadly contaminants can be
immediately removed from turnout gear.
the machismo prevalent in so many
departments, where soot-covered

32 | NFPA JOURNAL * M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 7

TOP, JESSE BURKE; AT LEFT, DOUG STERNBERG

COVERING UP
Protective hoods worn
under the helmet and
mask to cover the
face and neck are now
mandatory for Boston
firefighters.

smoke-eaters were regarded as the bravest
and baddest of all firefighters, was rampant
in Boston firehouses.
"Plenty of times when I was doing
overhaul (after a fire), I'd see guys inside
without masks puking out the window
from the smoke," said Lt. Marty Fernandes, 55, who told me he's seen several
firefighter friends die of cancer. "I always
had my mask on because breathing that
smoke didn't make me feel good. But
I'd hear, 'Hey, what are you wearing
your mask for?' There's definitely peer
pressure."
"I only wore my mask when I thought I
needed to," Preston told me. "I'd wait until
I thought I couldn't stand to take anymore
smoke, until I was coughing, choking, and
spitting. That's just how we did it. I wanted
to conserve air in case I needed it later, or
found a victim inside that needed it."
Firefighters also said that turnout gear
was almost never washed because each
person only had one good set and the
contractor hired to do the cleaning took
weeks to get it back, leaving firefighters
with a choice between dirty gear or none
at all. Filthy coats were known to kick up
black dust clouds that enveloped the firehouse, Preston told me. He once resorted
to washing his soot-caked turnout coat at a local laundromat.
He stuck it in a machine and left, and when he came back to
grab it the entire place smelled like it was on fire.
At the root of many of these problems were adversarial
relationships between Boston firefighters, fire department
management, and City Hall. Feuding over funding, along
with a lack of trust, created widespread dysfunction. Equipment and apparatus were aged and in a state of disrepair;
brakes on firetrucks would fail and remain broken for

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - May/June 2017