​​Firefighter turnout gear washer and extractor award program

​​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/dryer(s) 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.

The FY21 year's award program provided awards of up to $10,000 to assist Minnesota Fire Departments with the purchase of a gear washer/extractor and/or a gear dryer.  The program received 90 applications with more than $1,150,000 in project proposal requests.  The 2021 award program was able to provide 61 departments with awards totaling $600,000.  All departments awarded money will have completed the installation of their gear washer/extractor by December 2021. 

With the success of the FY21 gear washer/extractor program an additional $600,000 has been approved for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.  Individual award amounts will again be awarded in amounts up to $10,000 for gear washer/extractor(s) and up to $8,000 for gear dryer(s). 

The application deadline for the 2023-2024 program year is April 14, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.​

Please click HERE ​to download the application packet. 

If you have any questions, please contact Nolan Pasell at nolan.pasell@state.mn.us or by phone at (651) 201-7218.