When firefighters in California head into the flames, they wear special gear to protect them from heat, moisture, smoke and falling materials. But the same equipment meant to keep them safe exposes them to cancer-causing chemicals embedded in their uniforms.
This week, California firefighters and lawmakers convened at Fire Station 34 in Pasadena to promote a bill to eliminate toxic elements in firefighters’ garments, including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
In a time of extreme political divisions, California Assembly Bill 1181 received bipartisan support in the state Assembly and will be up for a vote in the state Senate in the coming weeks. If it becomes law, phase out of PFAS would begin by 2027.
“The very equipment that we use to keep others safe is making us sick,” said San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 treasurer Sina Riahi, who represents 1,700 members.
Once heralded as World War II-era miracle materials shielding against elements like fire and water, “forever chemicals” have since been recognized as carcinogens that enter the bloodstream and linger in the environment for thousands of years.
Cancer disproportionately affects firefighters, whose profession is classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Three-quarters of the 306 firefighters honored at the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in September 2024 died of occupational cancer.
Riahi said 300 firefighters in his network have succumbed to cancer since the establishment of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation (SFFCPF) in 2006. While the inhalation of smoke and other particles on the job is a major factor, life-saving equipment laced with PFAS is also a contributing factor.
California — which has over 50,000 firefighters guarding the state — banned firefighting foam with PFAS in 2022, drawing attention to firefighters’ uniforms containing the same components.
“You can’t put it in toys. You can’t put it in packaging. You can’t put it in makeup. Yet, it is still found in every form of firefighter gear,” said Assemblymember Matt Haney, the San Francisco Democrat who authored AB 1181.
In addition to laws blocking PFAS from being in household goods like mattresses, dental floss, carpets and clothing, a new law that took effect this year also bans the chemicals from menstrual products made and sold in California.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York have already passed laws to phase out PFAS from firefighting garments and equipment by 2027-2028.
On Tuesday, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced an investment of $500,000 in a pilot program providing advanced imaging cancer screenings for firefighters. The city is evaluating whether these diagnostic procedures, not normally covered by insurance, can help save firefighters’ lives by detecting and managing cancer early. San Francisco has already passed and started funding the phaseout of PFAS from its firefighters’ clothing and equipment.
Riahi said firefighters understand the risks of their jobs, such as building collapses, fire, and smoke, but never expected their multilayered turnout gear to add to the danger.
“They leach into our bodies, especially when we’re exposed to intense heat,” he said.
California Professional Firefighters president Brian Rice, who represents over 35,000 firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics, said the firefighter community has only recently come to understand the extent of the risks PFAS present.
He said the independent National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the federal government, and both the federal and California Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHA) have known the risks of PFAS.
The IAFF has an ongoing class-action lawsuit, filed in 2023 in Massachusetts, against the NFPA for issuing guidelines that the IAFF says ultimately encourage manufacturers to rely on PFAS to comply.
Tom Lyons, spokesperson for NFPA, said the independent nonprofit has no authority to require compliance with its standards for firefighter work apparel and protective gear.
Last year, another bill sought to ban PFAS from firefighters’ clothing but stalled. Proponents of the new bill say they believe it will succeed and that it has been designed to include airtight safety standards.
If AB 1181 passes, Cal OSHA will be accountable for implementing new standards that apply to Cal Fire firefighters and local fire departments and stations across the state. Firefighters deployed by the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies would not be subject to the law.
Though the bill has been officially unopposed, firefighters are concerned about the feasibility of implementing effective PFAS-free alternatives in a timely manner.
“Right now, we don’t have a gear or a garment that is safe and PFAS-free,” Rice said. “There are several manufacturers that are claiming they have PFAS-free gear, but until we test it ourselves scientifically, we won’t believe it.”
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Multiple gear manufacturers and leading manufacturer associations did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
A national bill to allocate funds for research and development of PFAS-free flame-retardant turnout gear fizzled in 2023.
But Rice believes California can lead the country with innovations that comply with a new, enforceable safety paradigm for firefighters and their gear.
“We’ll develop it here in California,” he said, “and the manufacturers will respond to us.”
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