South Shore Fire Station Task Force – November 2025

Submitted by Chris Durkee, Task Force Chair –

South Shore Fire Station – Update
November, 2025

FACT:
When firefighters return from a fire – structure or auto – they and their equipment
are covered with contaminants, many of which are carcinogens.

UPDATE:

Firefighters must decontaminate their personal protective equipment (PPE), tools and fire fighting equipment. “Gross Decontamination”, as can be seen in the photo above, occurs on scene.

The second phase of decontamination occurs back at the fire station, and includes washing the fire engine (a diverter valve directs the runoff water to the sewer rather than storm drain). Next, their turnout gear is washed in special washers that extract the carcinogens from the material with special cleaning agents. Turnouts are then hung to dry and “off gas” toxins for up to 72 hours. Each firefighter has 2 sets of turnouts to accommodate this process.

Another aspect of this decontamination process is that the fire station’s HVAC system should be designed to prevent airborne contaminants and off gas toxins from migrating into the living quarters by placing a slight negative air pressure in the decontamination space, and constructed with special air filters that then remove the contaminants.

The new South Shore Fire Station will be designed with this specialized air conditioning system and in-house cleaning equipment to decontaminate turnouts, breathing apparatus, and equipment.