Chatham-Kent Fire and Rescue is using provincial fire protection grant money to buy new, modern helmets to help protect its nearly 500 firefighters against cancer.
The nearly $157,000 Fire Protection Grant, received last year via Ontario’s Solicitor General’s Ministry, went to buy more than 200 Cairns 1836 traditional composite fire helmets.
“When a firefighter wears a helmet into a structure fire, that helmet comes out full of black soot and cancer-causing carcinogens,” said CKFR assistant chief Adam Walters.
Current helmets don’t have the best design to be taken apart and cleaned thoroughly, he added.
“These new helmets are fully standardized with removable liners so everything can be pulled apart to the smallest pieces” to be properly cleaned, Walters said.
“Soft goods” on the helmet that cover a firefighter’s ears and neck are made from special materials designed to help prevent soot and smoke being absorbed into the skin, he added..
The province has has announced it’s doubling Fire Protection Grant funding to $20 million to help municipal fire departments expand cancer-prevention initiatives and improve emergency response to lithium-ion battery-related incidents.
“Firefighters are always there when we need them, running towards danger to protect our homes and our communities,” Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said in a release. “That is why we’re doubling this year’s Fire Protection Grant, giving firefighters across the province the tools they need to stay safe and effectively respond to life-threatening emergencies.”
Walters said the new fire helmets are expected to arrive late next month.
The department is applying for more Fire Protection Grant funding this year to buy more of the helmets.