City and fire officials Tuesday morning unveiled 810 sets of new, non-PFAS protective equipment for firefighters across the department after dangerously high levels were uncovered last summer.
After a study initiated by Professor Graham Peaslee at Notre Dame, the city discovered their old gear was saturated with high, dangerous levels of PFAs that exceed normal standards.
Tom Bowes, president of the Quincy Firefighter’s Association Local 792, told Boston 25 that their previous gear distributor assured them that PFAS levels in the gear were safe and nothing to be concerned about.
Professor Peaslee told Boston 25 this spring the PFAS levels in the tested equipment were far too high.
PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”, have been linked to cancer concerns.
Occupational cancer leads to roughly 80% of the line-of-duty firefighter deaths across the country, according to Quincy’s interim fire chief Gary Smith.
During a ceremony Tuesday morning, Bowes emotionally outlined the nearly year-long battle to secure what he called PFAs-safe gear.
“We finally did it,” he said to a crowd with firefighters behind him applauding. “Who would’ve thought that the same gear meant to protect us now sits in evidence bags, locked up in the evidence room at the police station for and upcoming lawsuit?”
He added, “For years we have been lied to, and if we didn’t have the ability to test our gear, none of us would’ve known.”
Jason Burns, executive director of the Last Call Foundation, connected Quincy Firefighter’s Association with Professor Peaslee.
“We know we’re getting our tail kicked by cancer,” he said. “We were able to figure out the parts per million, and we challenged the gear industry.”
City leaders, including Mayor Thomas Koch, advocated for the $2.6 million investment approved by the city council after a lengthy process this spring.
Tuesday, he explained, “You’re putting gear on each and every day that’s supposed to protect you. It’s not supposed to make you sick.”
Interim Quincy fire chief Gary Smith said they partnered with a new equipment distributor after a long vetting process.
“Some of the greatest dangers firefighters face are the ones we don’t see at all,” he said. “[Firefighters] deserve it. Their families deserve it, and we as a community expect nothing less.”
Starting January of 2027, legislation in Massachusetts will ban the manufacture, sale, and distribution of fire equipment with intentionally added PFAS.
President of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, Rich Mackinnon, works with 237 departments across the state. He is urging all of them to making testing for PFAS a priority, even as legislation to curb the threat nears.
“Quincy has set the bar very high,” he said. “Communities are also going to have to step up and do the right thing.”
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