Clean gear is the new badge of honor

Studies have shown that inhalation or absorption of carcinogens is how firefighters are most likely exposed to cancer risk. Exposure can come from direct contact with the skin to dirty gear — including gear removal — or indirect contact by off-gassing.

While there is wider awareness of the danger that dirty gear represents to firefighters, it is still the prevailing cultural and work norms that more often determine when firefighters don their gear and how that gear is maintained. Peer pressure and organizational imperatives will override safety culture in many instances.

The PBCFR study

Researchers looked at how work culture influences the way PBCFR firefighters perceive risky work practices and how organizational barriers can further impede progress in changing risky behavior. To help raise awareness of occupational cancer risk, a voluntary team at PBCFR formed the Firefighters Attacking the Cancer Epidemic group. They partnered with a nearby cancer center and university to find countermeasures.

Research takeaways

• Twenty percent of firefighters still regard dirty gear as a badge of honor but that view is changing.
• While there is an acknowledgement that dirty gear is a problem that does not mean that regular cleaning of it occurs.
• There are competing priorities between getting needed rest in a high tempo environment versus taking cautionary steps to reduce a presumed — but still rather uncertain — cancer risk. Allowing time for firefighters to take the recommended cleaning actions runs up against not just cultural views but also organizational requirements. Implementing a simple scheduling change would send a clear message to rank-and-file about what the new work norm and practices should be.
• You can’t just focus on changing a cultural practice without also addressing an organization’s work policies and practices, which naturally are more focused on meeting immediate rather than long-term needs. You can get most firefighters to acknowledge the hazard posed by dirty gear but that won’t alone change behavior unless firefighters are given the time and resources to make clean gear a work priority.

Learn more about this research

This research article is available through our library by contacting FEMA-NETCLibrary@fema.dhs.gov. Interested readers may be able to access the article through their local library or through the publishers’ websites.