The Timmins Fire Department is set to become one of the first in Canada to outfit all its firefighters with gear that is free of cancer-causing chemicals, its chief says.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, council approved the purchase of an additional 100 sets of Starfield Lion bunker gear for a total price tag of $474,000.
The gear is free of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that has been linked to cancer and other health risks.
Bunker gear (also called “turn-out gear”) is the specialized protective outfit worn by firefighters and has a life cycle of 10 years. Since the current set of gear was purchased in 2017, it will expire next year, in 2027.
Tuesday’s decision will lead to a third round of purchasing that began in 2024. That year, 30 sets of bunker gear were purchased, and 46 sets were purchased in 2025. The aim of spreading out the purchases was to reduce capital spending.
“This third addition to the bunker gear following purchases in 2024 and 2025 will make our department one of the first in Canada to support PFAS-free gear, cancer-causing chemicals in the gear, providing added protection for all our firefighters against cancer-causing agents,” Atkinson told Timmins city council.
Several retired Timmins firefighters have died of work-related cancer.
PFAS is a group of nearly 15,000 synthetic chemicals that has been used in consumer and industry products for decades.
Firefighting equipment had been treated with the chemicals to repel against heat and moisture.
When recent studies showed that prolonged exposure to PFAS is linked to a variety of cancer diagnoses, fire departments began to explore alternatives.
Starfield Lion has replaced PFAS with “Stedair Clear,” a non-fluorinated moisture barrier made by Stedfast Inc.
Sault Ste. Marie adopted PFAS-free gear in May of 2024, and the Vancouver Fire Department also began purchasing the healthier gear that year.
“It hasn’t been out very long,” Atkinson told The Daily Press, by way of explaining why the new gear is rolling out gradually across the country.
“Every gear had to go through the actual inspection and get the certification that it’s PFAS-free.”
The original budgeted amount for all 100 sets of gear for 2026 was $500,000, but the total purchase price turned out to be $476,000.
To remove all PFAS gear from service, the service will purchase 27 spare sets of bunker gear with surplus budget thanks an Ontario fire protection grant of $102,614, awarded in December, 2025.
In August of 2025, the Ontario government through Solicitor General Michael Kerzner doubled the total grant available from $10 million to $20 million.
The investment was aimed at helping municipal fire departments “expand cancer prevention initiatives and improve emergency response to lithium-ion battery related incidents,” the government stated in its press release.
The solicitor general oversees the office of the fire marshal.
This is not the first time Timmins has benefited from the grant. In January, 2025, the Timmins’ Fire Department was able to buy 156 wildland fire coveralls with a different fire protection grant aimed at fighting wildland fires.
Firefighters’ exposure to hazardous chemicals puts them at a greater risk of cancer. In Canada, 50 to 60 firefighters die of cancer every year and half of those are from Ontario.
Atkinson said the gear purchased in 2024 is holding up, and is certified for ten years.
The new gear approved on Tuesday will be delivered in the next five to six months.