Gear washer and extractor program

​​How do gear washers and dryers help?

Despite being more physically fit and healthier than the general population, both career and volunteer/paid-on-call firefighters experience cancer at higher rates than those in the communities they serve. Studies continue to show that firefighters are acutely exposed to known carcinogens during structure and other fires and are continually exposed via turnout gear that is soiled due to exposure to toxic combustion byproducts. 

In recent years, fire departments across Minnesota have implemented turnout gear decontamination procedures post fire events to help reduce firefighter exposure to toxic combustion byproducts. At the same time, mechanical turnout gear washers/extractors/dryers have been introduced as an effective and efficient means by which firefighters can best clean their soiled turnout gear and greatly reduce their exposure to combustion byproducts.