Firefighters

Eryn Meinhardt-Donohue, a state wildland firefighter who works in Sandwich, tells CAI about her recent two-week deployment to help fight the wildfires that have been burning in Canada.

The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) is suing the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a Quincy-based group that guides national standards for firefighters’ protective gear, alleging that the NFPA is colluding with gear manufacturers and profiting from the standards that effectively require PFAS to be included in firefighters’ protective suits.

Firefighters from Fall River, Hyannis, and Nantucket are participating in a study to see whether PFAS chemicals are working their way from firefighters’ gear into their bodies. The results could eventually help lead to the standardization of protective apparel that’s made with less – or even zero – PFAS.

PFAS have been linked to kidney, testicular, prostate, breast, liver, and ovarian cancers, among other diseases. Studies show firefighters generally have higher levels of PFAS in their blood than the general public.

"My Dad — back in the day of a pager, his pager went off," said Tom Kenney's daughter, Meaghann. "You have to be ready to go. So he jumped in his truck, left Town Hall, went home, said goodbye to my mother, and off he went.”