How you remove PPE affects your exposure to toxins
Illinois Fire Service Institute
IFSI Research – How can you personally reduce your fireground exposure to fireground contaminants?
We have long understood the immediate fireground risks from the smoke and heat produced by fires. It is most likely not possible to completely avoid this smoke while doing the job that must be done on the fireground. However, when the firefight is over and the smoke production has ended, we can take steps to avoid exposure to the contaminates deposited on our gear.
Right now, there is a lot of research and product development focused on contamination control in order to reduce that exposure and improve the health of the Fire Service. While conducting our current study looking at PPE cleaning and repeated exposures, we have observed how a few simple changes in how we don and doff our PPE can reduce exposure to contaminants on the fireground.
This is the first part of our series focusing on steps to consider for reducing exposure without significantly impacting firefighting operations or purchasing new equipment.
