First Responders Put Life-Saving Shower to Use

Published on February 28, 2023

In the span of seven days, the City of Maricopa Fire/Medical Department responded to two separate house fires - an anomaly for the city. Crews arrived geared up ready to do what they train all year long to do; protect life and property at all costs. 

Often times this means, our first responders are encountering smoke-filled homes and exposed building materials such as fiberglass insulation as they look to ensure a fire is completely extinguished. More times than not, they exit the fire-damaged buildings covered in remnants of those materials, not to mention a layer of soot from the fire. 

“It used to be we’d come out of a house fire with all of our gear and the dirtier it was the bigger badge of honor you used to get,” Engineer David Maas says. “It’s taken many, many years to find out that all of those carcinogens can slowly kill us after retirement. So, our Chief and admin staff have really stepped up the procedures to make sure that we are cleaning our gear and not taking anything home.”

According to a number of studies, including one of the largest cohort mortality studies on firefighters in the United States by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), firefighters are significantly more likely to have cancer or to die from it than the general public. This is because of repeated exposure crews have to fireground contaminants or products of combustion and other contaminants released from burning fuels. For example, research shows structure fires may expose firefighters to chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde - known carcinogens or cancer-causing chemicals. 

In 2022, the department invested in a StormStick decontamination unit in order to add another layer of protection for MFMD crews. 

“The StormStick is just one of the ways we are trying to keep our firefighters healthy and minimize their exposures to carcinogens,” Fire Chief Brad Pitassi states. “On-scene decontamination is the first, and most critical step, to ensure they are removing as many contaminants as possible after exposures.” 

The StormStick is essentially a shower that utilizes a detergent-based rinse system to remove a majority of the hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and soot they may carry out of a fire that water alone cannot. The system was developed by a number of veteran firefighters in Phoenix, Arizona, and was tested by agencies across the state. 

“Our men and woman are our most important asset and they are facing incredible challenges in their service of protecting life and property in the City of Maricopa. Our goal is to provide them with every opportunity to have long healthy careers. We are actively and aggressively working to engineer cancer mitigations, like the StormStick, into the everyday practices of their jobs to meet that goal,” Pitassi adds. 

In recent weeks, the system has proven indispensable as crews responded to two home fires within the course of seven days. A layer of soot-covered insulation was washed away versus carried back to the fire station in the cab of their truck where crews spend hours a year responding to calls. 

MFMD protocol takes gear maintenance a step further. Once washed down gear is brought back to the firehouse after a fire, it is bagged up and sent out where it is thoroughly decontaminated and washed. Our crews have a secondary set they are able to utilize in the meantime. 

“As an Engineer, It’s my job to watch out for my crew - not only when it comes to operating the rig, but advocating and ensuring we take every step possible to have one less firefighter die from cancer, which is considered a line of duty death,” Maas adds.