Millville firefighters breathing easier
MILLVILLE – The town’s firefighters are breathing a whole lot easier.
Thanks to a FEMA Assisatance to Firefighters Grant, the Millville Fire and Rescue Department on Thursday completed installation of a source capture exhaust extraction system at the fire station to help improve the breathing environment for rits full-time and on call firefighters and EMS personnel.
Diesel engine exhaust emissions in fire stations expose firefighters to health risks, including certain types of cancers as well as pulmonary and cardiac diseases.
In Millville, that danger was very real because every room at the station on Central Street is right off the main apparatus floor, including sleeping quarters, kitchen, day room, fire alarm room, offices and bathrooms. Because of the layout of the station, there is nowhere to go to escape the exhaust fumes each time a piece of apparatus starts up, creating an unsafe environment.
The department’s fleet includes an engine/pumper, an engine ladder, an ambulance and a forest truck.
“A diesel-powered apparatus generates exhaust whenever it leaves or returns to a station,” said Chief of Police and Fire Ronald S. Landry. “If not properly captured, this exhaust will enter not only the apparatus bay but also the firefighters’ living quarters. As a result, firefighters can be exposed to diesel exhaust for a significant portion of their shifts.”
OSHA Indoor Air Quality Regulations that went into affect earlier this year would have forced the cashstrapped town of Millville to fund the exhaust extraction system itself, but luckily Landry was able to secure a grant in the amount of $49,000 to pay for the system, which was installed for $42,000 this week by Plymovent of Hanover, Mass, a leading supplier of products, systems and services for the extraction and filtration of polluted indoor air.
The Assistance for Firefighters Grant Program is among the Department of Homeland Security’s and FEMA’s most competitive grant program. In 2017 FEMA received over 9,770 AFG applications requesting more than $2.1 billion in federal assistance.
“The OHSHA mandate concerning diesel fumes was issued earlier this year but we applied for the grant last year and received the funds this year so it was great timing,” Landry said.
The system has hoses that attach to the exhaust pipes on the fire apparatus to filter all the contaminants out before the exhaust is dispersed. It also features a track system so that the trucks stay hooked up to the hose until they leave the station. As the trucks leave the bays, the hose detaches itself.
“This new system allows us to capture the emissions and vent them outside, greatly reducing the potential of employee exposure,” Landry said.
Diesel exhaust is a mixture of gases and micro- scopic solids. Gases include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen and Sulfide oxides.
Diesel exhaust causes health problems including pulmonary disease and may be carcinogenic. It is mostly harmful to children, elderly, those with pulmonary and cardiovascular disease and other susceptible people.