Keeping particulate contamination off firefighters’ bodies and out of their apparatus and fire stations has become a priority for many departments around the country. Departments are using gross decon methods at fire scenes, bagging turnout gear, and using washer-extractors at the station to clean turnouts and dry them properly or sending them out to a turnout gear decon laundry service.
Gary Gauthier, regional sales manager at Pellerin Milnor Corp., says that the capacity of a washer-extractor installed in a fire station is usually driven by departmental preference. “It’s common for a fire department to choose a machine that fits their staffing requirements,” Gauthier says. “If a department has four or five firefighters on a shift, they likely will want a washer-extractor to accommodate four to five sets of turnout gear at a time. For a smaller volunteer department, maybe they’ll choose a washer-extractor for a single set of turnout gear, so each firefighter is responsible for their own gear.”
1 Pellerin Milnor Corp. makes a variety of washer-extractors to clean fire turnout gear like this 40-pound model. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Pellerin Milnor Corp.)
2 This Milnor gear-drying cabinet handles two sets of turnout gear at a time.
Gauthier notes that because turnout gear is so expensive, it’s critical that it is washed properly and safely, which is why Pellerin Milnor uses microprocessor controllers on its washer-extractors. “We’ve been making Milnor machines since 1988 specifically for firefighter turnout gear,” he says. “All our Milnor Gear Guardian™ washer-extractor machines are compliant to NFPA 1951, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Technical Rescue Incidents, in maintenance and care of protective gear and have programmable cycles that can be customized.”
Milnor also makes the Gear Guardian Drying Cabinet, says Darrell Redler, Milnor’s marketing director for tunnel systems. “Our drying cabinets are all stainless steel and not painted, which can show rust over time,” Redler says. “There are two models, for either three sets of turnout gear or six sets of gear, and both models have a high-performance fan that boosts the air flow through the drying cabinet. Most drying cabinets on the market dry gear in three to four hours of operating time, but our drying cabinets will typically dry turnout gear in 1.5 to two hours because of our 1,200-cubic-feet-per-minute (cfm) fan.”
3 Ram Air Gear Dryer makes this TG-4 four-place gear dryer, which the company says is a good match for a common 20-pound washer-extractor. (Photos 3-4 courtesy of Ram Air Gear Dryer.)
4 For gross decon on a fire scene, Ram Air makes a 1¼-gallon PPE Decontamination Sprayer that automatically mixes water and gear cleaning solutions or disinfectants.
Lance Dornn, president and founder of Ram Air Gear Dryer, says his company makes seven models of gear dryers, with and without heat. “Our most popular model is the TG-4 four-place gear dryer, which is a good match to the common 20-pound washer-extractor,” Dornn points out. “All of our models have fans to dry the gear using high-volume and high-pressure air, which gets to the hard-to-dry areas under the arms and where material is folded over under the crotch.” Ram Air also makes six-unit and eight-unit turnout gear dryers, and all its models are operated by touch screen control.
5 UniMac® makes four models of washer-extractors for fire turnout gear, including this 45-pound model. (Photo 5 courtesy of UniMac.)
Ready Rack offers a line of washer-extractors and gear dryers for fire stations, with models washing four, six, eight, 10, and 14 sets of turnout gear at one time. The various models are compliant with NFPA 1951 and come with enhanced, preprogrammable wash cycles. Ready Rack also offers a Firehouse Express Dryer for turnout gear in two-gear and six-gear models, also compliant with NFPA 1951.
6 Ready Rack makes washer-extractors that wash from four to 14 sets of turnout gear at one time. (Photos 6-7 courtesy of Ready Rack.)
7 This is Ready Rack’s version of a two-gear drying cabinet.
UniMac® makes four models of washer-extractors that are used for cleaning turnout gear: a high-performance model, mid-performance version, hard-mount cabinet washer-extractor, and soft-mount washer-extractor designed for second-floor use where a poured foundation isn’t an option. UniMac also makes the PPE drying cabinet that offers preset programs ranging from 1.5 to 3 hours of drying time and will handle six sets of turnout gear.
Decontamination and cleaning of turnout gear sometimes take place on the fire scene in the form of gross decon to remove as much particulate and contamination as possible before bringing the turnout gear to the station for a thorough decon.
Jeff Hicks, OEM channel manager for Task Force Tips (TFT), says TFT’s DECON/pak Portable Decontamination System is a self-contained agent proportioning and rinse application system developed specifically for gross decon of firefighters and their equipment. Hicks notes that the DECON/pak can reduce contamination of gear and equipment by 85 percent.
8 Task Force Tips (TFT) makes the DECON/pak Portable Decontamination System to perform gross decon on firefighters at a fire scene. (Photos 8-9 courtesy of Task Force Tips.)
9 TFT has introduced the StationProtect filtration unit that uses four different filters to clean the air in fire stations.
The DECON/pak is a 2½-gallon polypropylene concentrate tank that weighs 10 pounds and can be pressurized by a 1-inch or 1½-inch hoseline. Flow, through a 12-foot discharge hose, is controlled by a twist grip valve that also functions as a carrying handle, and the unit has a selector for agent proportioning from 0.1 to .5 percent for cleaning agent or can be set to rinse with water only.
Ram Air makes a 1¼-gallon PPE Decon Sprayer for onsite gross decon that automatically mixes water and gear cleaning solutions or disinfectants. Air injection at the nozzle provides a foaming action, and the unit connects to a standard ¾-inch hose with water pressure up to 100 psi.
10 W.S. Darley & Co. offers a portable, collapsible hazmat decon shower made of 1½-inch PVC tubing for deconning firefighters at a scene. (Photo 10 courtesy of W.S. Darley & Co.)
11 Husky Portable Containment makes the Husky Decontamination Shower System, which has four shower nozzles that put out 4.2 gpm at 40 psi. (Photo 11 courtesy of Husky Portable Containment.)
Brian Brown of Fire Service Solutions and a member of the W.S. Darley & Company fire advisory board says Darley offers a portable, collapsible hazmat decon shower made of 1½-inch PVC tubing designed for decontamination at a scene. The unit has a crisscross water flow pattern for greater cleaning and breaks down to fit in a 42-inch by 26-inch by 12-inch canvas carrying duffel bag.
Brown adds that cleaning the air in fire trucks and in stations should be part of a department’s decon strategy. “Fire truck cabs are never completely clean, so we should be considering ways to make them healthier,”he says. “Likewise, departments should consider ionization units in their station’s apparatus bays and living quarters.” Bipolar ionization systems are inserted into ductwork and crate molecules that have both positive and negative ions, which move through the air stream to attach to particles, pathogens, and gas molecules, which are then extracted by a media filter.
Hicks of TFT says that TFT recently launched the StationProtect filtration unit designed for use in fire stations. The unit has four filters: a prefilter that traps dust, pollen, and other large particulate matter; a molecular filtration media that removes aerosols carrying viruses, toxic gases, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs); a PuraWard Filter that’s protected from many viruses, bacteria, and mold using copper and silver; and a HEPA Final Filter to capture particulates, allergens, bacteria, and viruses. TFT also offers a multi-threat air filtration unit called CrewProtect™ that’s designed to be installed in fire apparatus crew cabs.
Husky Portable Containment makes a decon shower system that can be set up anywhere water is available. The system includes a PVC shower with four shower heads, hose with a hand sprayer, a 4- by 8-foot by 1-foot steel or aluminum frame decon pool (also a 5 by 5 and 4 by 4 are available), and a carry bag. The system is made of PVC construction with quick connect cam lock fittings, and the four shower nozzles put out 4.2 gpm at 40 psi. Shower weight with the curtain and storage bag is 70 pounds, and the assembled dimensions are 42 by 36 by 84 inches.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
