Difficult to believe that the Firefighter Cancer Initiative is about six years old. A strong part of the credit goes to our Brothers and Sisters with the Boston Fire Department. Without their moving video, we may not have crossed into where we are today for a year or two later. Then, only about 1-1/2 years later, we hear about chemicals that are man-made, came out in the 1950’s and that the vast majority of us never heard of before: PFAS. Developed my two major chemical companies in the 1950’s they never break down in nature, nor does heat affect it. And yes, it is a carcinogen. And, it has been in our bunker gear since at least 1977 according to the nuclear testing of both new and used gear by Graham Peaslee, PhD at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. However, we might never have heard of it or learned that it was in our bunker gear if it were not for Diane and Paul Cotter. In my opinion, every firefighter should be grateful for everything they did to bring this to the masses. 

My guest on this episode is Jim Burneka. Jim is a recently retired firefighter from Dayton OH. Jim was podcasting about PFAS as I was just learning about it. We both posted our thoughts on social media and it was inevitable that we would finally have to talk with other. And through emails and social media postings, we did. And I was honored when he accepted my initial invitation to be on “5-Alarm Task Force.” And I learned a lot more from Jim that day!

On this episode, we discuss the changes that we’ve seen in the last few years. There’s smart decon, shower-within-an-hour, in-house extractor and much more. However, that progress does not mean that we are “in the clear.” Listen to what Jim has to say to learn about our advances and remaining hurdles that we must still face. 

Please help us to help our Brothers and Sisters in dire need! Over 90% of our disbursed funds have been donated to families of firefighters who have made the Ultimate Sacrifice. Visit us at https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org. Thank you!