Local fire departments receive grant money from the state to reduce cancer risk; $920,000 passed out overall

MARLBOROUGH – Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito today announced $920,000 in grant awards to 174 Massachusetts fire departments for gear and equipment that will reduce firefighters’ exposure to cancer-causing chemicals on the job.

“These grants will help local departments purchase critical gear to support firefighters as they put themselves in harm’s way to protect the Commonwealth’s communities,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Helping to protect them from the physical and occupational hazards of the job is a key way we can show our appreciation for the dedicated service of our first responders.”

“Many fire departments across the Commonwealth are all too familiar with the increased risk of occupational cancers faced by fire service personnel,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “These grant awards will support many ongoing cancer prevention initiatives at the local level by reducing the amount of cancer-causing chemicals thousands of firefighters are exposed to in the coming years.”

“On a daily basis, modern firefighters face countless dangers, but we now know that occupational cancers caused by exposure to smoke and other combustion byproducts are as dangerous to them as knocking down fires and conducting rescue operations,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Security Thomas A. Turco III. “Fire departments across Massachusetts have made significant changes to the way they work to combat these risks in recent years, and these grant programs will help many to move their cancer prevention efforts forward.”

The Baker-Polito Administration has filed a bond bill which would provide $25 million in authorization to continue funding similar grants to allow departments to purchase equipment including turnout gear and washers/extractors.

The Firefighter Turnout Gear Grant program will provide firefighters in 144 departments with new hoods and gloves for structural firefighting activities. These items will reduce exposure to cancer-causing chemicals in the head and hand areas, which are high-risk areas for dangerous chemicals to enter the body. In total, approximately 3,000 hoods and 3,000 pairs of gloves will be purchased with the $500,000 from this program.

“Replacing old and damaged turnout gear is a financial challenge for most every department in the Commonwealth” said State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey. “These grant awards will ensure that a significant number of firefighters have access to hoods and gloves that will effectively protect them from exposure to dangerous contaminants, and that is one of the best things we can do for them to reduce the risk of a future cancer diagnosis.”

Through the Washer-Extractor Equipment Grant, $420,000 was awarded to 75 departments that will receive a new washer-extractor to clean their structural firefighting gear after exposure to smoke and other toxic chemicals. Because some of the recipient agencies are purchasing regional-use machines, 84 departments will actually benefit from them. A national standard set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) on the care and cleaning of structural firefighting gear delineates specific types of machines that should be used to effectively remove cancer-causing chemicals after each fire. All washer-extractors purchased with this grant will meet this standard, and enable personnel to wear clean gear each time they leave the fire station for an emergency.

Forty-five fire departments were successful in applying for both grants.

“Cleaning firefighting gear is not a long-standing tradition in the fire service. Soot and ash-laden gear was once the mark of a seasoned firefighter, but we now know that washing gear after every exposure to smoke is the safest thing to do,” said Needham Fire Chief Dennis Condon, President of the Fire Chiefs’ Association of Massachusetts (FCAM). “The impact on the firefighters and their families in these departments who will now have the ability to wash their gear is truly immense.”

The following fire departments received turnout gear grants:

Acton Fire Department

$4,644.00

Acushnet Fire and EMS Department

$2,516.04

Agawam Fire Department

$4,785.00

Amherst Fire Department

$8,500.00

Ashburnham Fire Department

$2,520.00

Ashby Fire Department

$2,850.00

Ashland Fire Department

$832.00

Athol Fire Department

$2,490.00

Ayer Fire Department

$2,552.00

Barre Fire Department

$5,915.00

Belchertown Fire Rescue

$7,181.10

Berkley Fire Department

$4,218.00

Berlin Fire & EMS

$2,610.00

Billerica Fire Department

$3,366.00

Blandford Fire Rescue

$360.00

Bolton Fire-EMS

$1,260.00

Boxborough Fire Department

$3,520.00

Boylston Fire Department

$2,465.82

Braintree Fire Department

$2,700.00

Bridgewater Fire Department

$2,507.00

Brimfield Fire Department

$3,744.00

Brookfield Fire Department

$2,540.00

Canton Fire Department

$7,181.10

Charlemont Fire Department

$372.00

Chicopee Fire Department

$2,968.65

Cohasset Fire Department

$4,816.00

Concord Fire Department

$1,099.50

Danvers Fire Department

$7,181.09

Dartmouth Fire District No. 3

$3,827.00

Dighton Fire Department

$2,480.00

Dover Fire Department

$2,540.00

Dunstable Fire Department

$2,470.00

Easthampton Fire Department

$2,565.00

Easton Fire Department

$7,181.09

Essex Fire Department

$2,500.00

Everett Fire Department

$4,971.00

Framingham Fire Department

$3,240.00

Franklin Fire Department

$2,480.00

Freetown Fire Department

$2,784.00

Gardner Fire Department

$2,465.00

Gill Fire Department

$3,900.00

Goshen Fire Department

$2,500.00

Greenfield Fire Department

$2,415.00

Halifax Fire Department

$2,390.07

Hampden Fire Department

$2,510.00

Hanover Fire Department

$2,471.45

Hanson Fire Department

$2,482.00

Hatfield Fire Department

$1,125.00

Hingham Fire Department

$4,800.00

Holliston Fire Department

$3,405.20

Hopedale Fire Department

$4,825.00

Hopkinton Fire Department

$3,003.00

Hudson Fire Department

$2,447.00

Hyannis Fire Department

$3,575.00

Ipswich Fire Department

$2,430.00

Kingston Fire Department

$2,506.25

Lakeville Fire Department

$3,780.00

Lee Fire Department

$2,565.00

Leicester Fire Department

$5,355.00

Lenox Fire Department

$2,500.00

Leominster Fire Department

$3,184.00

Leverett Fire Department

$2,685.00

Lexington Fire Department

$7,181.10

Leyden Fire Department

$2,040.00

Lincoln Fire Department

$2,350.00

Lunenburg Fire Department

$2,500.00

Lynn Fire Department

$5,250.00

Malden Fire Department

$4,900.00

Marion Fire Department

$3,240.00

Marlborough Fire Department

$3,840.00

Massport Fire-Rescue Department

$2,640.00

Maynard Fire Department

$2,497.11

Medfield Fire Department

$2,484.00

Melrose Fire Department

$2,500.00

Mendon Fire Department

$4,758.00

Methuen Fire Department

$4,800.00

Middleton Fire Department

$5,440.00

Millville Fire Department

$180.00

Nantucket Fire Department

$2,475.00

Needham Fire Department

$7,181.10

New Salem Fire Department

$2,550.00

Newburyport Fire Department

$2,565.00

Norfolk Fire Department

$2,511.00

North Andover Fire Department

$7,181.10

Northborough Fire Department

$2,500.00

Northbridge Fire Department

$3,135.00

Norton Fire Department

$5,400.00

Onset Fire Department

$4,955.58

Palmer Fire Department

$1,700.00

Peabody Fire Department

$2,479.00

Pepperell Fire Department

$5,400.00

Plainville Fire Department

$3,440.00

Plymouth Fire Department

$2,496.00

Plympton Fire Department

$2,440.00

Princeton Fire Department

$4,340.00

Provincetown Fire Department

$4,059.00

Randolph Fire Department

$7,181.09

Raynham Fire Department

$2,992.00

Reading Fire Department

$2,496.00

Revere Fire Department

$2,500.00

Rochester Fire Department

$5,551.26

Rockport Fire Department

$7,181.09

Rowe Fire Department

$372.00

Rowley Fire Department

$2,484.00

Salisbury Fire Department

$2,500.00

Sandisfield Fire Department

$2,949.00

Shelburne Falls Fire District

$3,648.00

Shelburne Fire District

$3,947.76

Sherborn Fire Department

$3,400.00

Shrewsbury Fire Department

$2,500.00

Somerset Fire Department

$6,510.00

Somerville Fire Department

$7,181.10

Southborough Fire Department

$2,415.00

Southwick Fire Department

$2,450.00

Spencer Fire Department

$2,280.00

Sterling Fire Department

$1,860.00

Stockbridge Fire Department

$1,900.00

Stoughton Fire Department

$2,480.00

Stow Fire Department

$3,116.00

Sturbridge Fire Department

$850.00

Sudbury Fire Department

$5,250.00

Taunton Fire Department

$2,480.00

Townsend Fire-EMS

$2,638.80

Turner’s Falls Fire Department

$2,415.75

Upton Fire – EMS Department

$3,400.00

Wakefield Fire Department

$2,475.00

Wales Fire Department

$2,475.00

Walpole Fire Department

$2,486.00

Waltham Fire Department

$8,715.00

Wayland Fire Department

$2,860.00

Webster Fire Department

$6,300.00

Wellesley Fire Department

$4,400.00

Wendell Fire Department

$1,020.00

West Barnstable Fire Department

$2,951.80

West Boylston Fire Department

$2,064.00

W. Bridgewater Fire Department

$2,470.00

Westborough Fire Department

$2,484.00

Westminster Fire Department

$2,535.00

Weston Fire Department

$2,500.00

Westport Fire Department

$2,670.00

Westwood Fire Department

$2,500.00

Wilbraham Fire Department

$2,375.00

Worcester Fire Department

$19,223.00

Wrentham Fire Department

$3,108.00

The following fire departments received washer-extractor equipment grants:

Acton Fire Department

$6,416.73

Amherst Fire Department

$6,416.73

Andover Fire Rescue

$6,416.72

Ashburnham Fire Department

$5,000.00

Athol Fire Department

$5,000.00

Belchertown Fire Rescue

$6,416.73

Beverly Fire Department

$6,416.72

Boxford Fire Department

$6,416.73

Braintree Fire Department

$6,416.73

Brookfield Fire Department

$4,850.00

Burlington Fire Department

$5,000.00

Carlisle Fire Department

$3,950.00

Carver Fire Department

$6,416.73

Charlemont Fire Department

$5,706.00

Chelmsford Fire Department

$6,416.72

Chicopee Fire Department

$5,000.00

Clarksburg Vol. Fire Company

$4,900.00

Clinton Fire Department

$5,000.00

Devens Fire Department

$5,000.00

Dighton Fire Department

$3,800.00

Dracut Fire Department

$6,416.73

Easthampton Fire Department

$6,416.73

Easton Fire Department

$4,165.00

Fairhaven Fire Department

$5,000.00

Gill Fire Department

$5,000.00

Gloucester Fire Department

$6,416.72

Groveland Fire Department

$3,476.00

Hampden Fire Department

$5,000.00

Harvard Fire Department

$5,000.00

Haverhill Fire Department

$6,416.72

Holliston Fire Department

$5,000.00

Hopkinton Fire Department

$6,416.73

Huntington Fire Department

$5,600.00

Lawrence Fire Department

$5,000.00

Lenox Fire Department

$5,000.00

Leominster Fire Department

$6,416.73

Leverett Fire Department

$6,416.73

Marlborough Fire Department

$6,416.72

Massport Fire-Rescue Department

$6,416.73

Mattapoisett Fire Department

$6,416.73

Methuen Fire Department

$6,416.73

Middleborough Fire Department

$5,000.00

Millbury Fire Department

$6,190.00

Millville Fire Department

$3,800.00

New Salem Fire Department

$4,500.00

Newburyport Fire Department

$6,000.00

North Attleboro Fire Department

$6,416.72

North Brookfield

$5,000.00

Norwell Fire Department

$5,000.00

Onset Fire Department

$6,416.73

Pepperell Fire Department

$5,000.00

Princeton Fire Department

$5,000.00

Provincetown Fire Department

$6,416.73

Revere Fire Department

$5,000.00

Rockland Fire Department

$6,416.73

Salisbury Fire Department

$5,000.00

Sandisfield Fire Department

$5,000.00

Seekonk Fire Department

$4,142.75

Shelburne Falls Fire District

$9,751.00

Shrewsbury Fire Department

$5,000.00

Somerset Fire Department

$6,416.73

Southwick Fire Department

$5,000.00

Stockbridge Fire Department

$3,934.00

Sturbridge Fire Department

$6,416.72

Sutton Fire Rescue Department

$5,000.00

Topsfield Fire Department

$6,416.73

Townsend Fire-EMS

$5,000.00

Wayland Fire Department

$5,400.00

Wendell Fire Department

$4,500.00

West Barnstable Fire Department

$6,416.73

West Boylston Fire Department

$6,416.73

Weymouth Fire Department

$5,000.00

Winchendon Fire Department

$6,416.72

Wrentham Fire Department

$6,416.72

Westborough Fire Department

$6,416.7