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Anyone wearing FR uniform pants?
According to the Palm Beach Post, Boca Raton Fire Capt. John Luca was gutting it out, and it showed. At 41, the veteran firefighter looked used up. His voice was small and hoarse. He slept eight hours a night and woke feeling drained. Luca chalked it up to stress. He was tough, he told himself. He could handle it.
But after years of exhaustion, after a strange trembling settled in his fingers and paralysis gripped his toes and a weakened leg made him struggle to climb the stairs, Luca, now 43, finally asked for help. He could barely walk as he checked himself into a hospital, convinced he was stricken by some terrible degenerative disease
Long after that day in December 2007, after a series of medical tests and doctor consultations only deepened the mystery surrounding his decline, Luca, president of the Boca Raton firefighters union, IAFF Local 1560, realized some of his fellow city firefighters were almost as sick as he was.
After forming a union committee in September and consulting a Boca Raton doctor, Luca and some of the firefighters came to an alarming conclusion: Their fire-resistant uniform pants were poisoning them. "There's no doubt that the pants caused us to be sick," said Luca, who estimated at least 50 Boca Raton firefighters were showing symptoms of heavy-metal poisoning linked to flame retardant in the pants. "I think it's widespread."
Luca, his doctor, and other current and former firefighters said the cause of the problems is antimony — a heavy metal related to arsenic and a key ingredient in the FireWear pants the department required firefighters to wear for more than 15 years as part of their everyday uniforms.
City officials, though, refused to process at least 30 workers compensation claims, even while bending, in October, to the union's demand for plain cotton uniform pants. Instead, the city contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which opened an investigation into the fire-resistant pants on Monday.
"We don't have any evidence of a safety issue, but out of an abundance of caution we have changed out the pants while the matter is being investigated," Deputy City Manager George Brown said. "We have no evidence that there's any link between the pants and heavy-metal poisoning."
A representative of the Cincinnati-based company that sells FireWear clothing, Fechheimer Brothers, said firefighters nationwide have been wearing the pants for more than 15 years.
"To our knowledge, the Boca Raton Fire Department is the only customer ever informing us of a sensitivity to the FireWear fabric," said Fred Heldman, the company's senior vice president, in a statement. "However, since the quality of our products and the safety of our customers are our top priorities, we have contacted the manufacturer that supplies the FireWear fabric to our company and others to gain a greater understanding of the concerns being raised."
Luca said most departments statewide issue plain cotton pants for everyday use. Brown said firefighters with at least two other Florida departments, in Tamarac and Hillsborough County, wear FireWear uniform pants. Both of those departments were cooperating with doctors in the federal probe, officials said.
Hillsborough fire Capt. George Sucarichi said his department, which started issuing the pants about six months ago, had yet to encounter problems. Tamarac Fire Chief Jim Budzinski, whose department has issued the pants for more than 10 years, said his firefighters never complained of symptoms.
"The whole concept behind those pants is to make our firefighters safer," Budzinski said. "If there's something happening that's negating that, we want to know and correct it."
In Boca Raton, Luca and others pulled on the uniform cargo pants, which were woven with fibers containing antimony and other chemicals, every workday for more than a decade. They wore the pants under heavier gear while fighting fires.
"It's a shame because the city should have said, 'We need to look into this,' " said Richard Sicking, a Miami workers compensation attorney representing the firefighters union. "It's sort of like an epidemic. Some people are sicker than others."
A hair analysis by Doctor's Data, a Chicago-based clinical laboratory, in July revealed about four times the acceptable level of antimony in Luca's body; less than 5 percent of people tested had higher levels, according to the lab report.
Dr. Leonard Haimes, a licensed physician who practices holistic medicine in Boca Raton, said Luca's uniform pants were the only possible source of the metal.
"If you take normal people, and you check them for antimony in their bodies, you're not going to find it," Haimes said. "You have to have a source of exposure, and the source of exposure is self-evident: the pants that they've been wearing."
Jack McCartt, a former assistant fire chief in Boca Raton who was hired last summer as fire chief in Dania Beach, said he suffered tremors after wearing the FireWear pants for several years.
"There have been sporadic, numerous illnesses at the fire department that you've got to raise your eyebrows about," said McCartt, who teaches a hazardous materials course at the National Fire Academy. "I think the facts are pretty evident at this point, that they've got a long-term issue with a continuous exposure ... to antimony."
Other firefighters also say that for years the station houses of Boca Raton Fire-Rescue have been visited by strange and inexplicable ailments.
They say there was the former union president who was forced to undergo brain surgery, during which doctors found not the tumor they expected but cloudy cerebral spinal fluid; the battalion chief felled by a strange and rare form of belly cancer; the retiree whose heart was threatened by fluid, and three cardiologists couldn't say why; the captain who suffered crippling headaches; the firefighter tormented by an incurable rash; the handful of thyroid surgeries among young firefighters, who also complained of numbness or tingling in their hands or feet or whose testosterone levels were dramatically low; the recent rash of miscarriages by firefighters' wives.
Of 36 city firefighters tested for heavy-metal toxicity, 30 were found to have "very elevated" levels of antimony in their bodies, said Capt. Phil Santa Maria, chairman of the union committee formed to address health concerns.
"It's real, and it's dangerous," said Haimes, the Boca Raton doctor. "I really feel that these people should be treated. These guys put their lives on the line every day for us, and they got sucked into something here." Boca Raton Assistant Fire Chief Raul Travieso, a 34-year veteran who says he has seen strange symptoms in some firefighters, said: "We're going to try and get to the bottom of this. Our people are our biggest asset, and we don't want to get them sick in any way."
Luca, though, said the union still is waiting to see how the city will respond.
"My concern right now is, are we going to get people treated?" Luca said. "Are we going to turn a blind eye to this?"
But after years of exhaustion, after a strange trembling settled in his fingers and paralysis gripped his toes and a weakened leg made him struggle to climb the stairs, Luca, now 43, finally asked for help. He could barely walk as he checked himself into a hospital, convinced he was stricken by some terrible degenerative disease
Long after that day in December 2007, after a series of medical tests and doctor consultations only deepened the mystery surrounding his decline, Luca, president of the Boca Raton firefighters union, IAFF Local 1560, realized some of his fellow city firefighters were almost as sick as he was.
After forming a union committee in September and consulting a Boca Raton doctor, Luca and some of the firefighters came to an alarming conclusion: Their fire-resistant uniform pants were poisoning them. "There's no doubt that the pants caused us to be sick," said Luca, who estimated at least 50 Boca Raton firefighters were showing symptoms of heavy-metal poisoning linked to flame retardant in the pants. "I think it's widespread."
Luca, his doctor, and other current and former firefighters said the cause of the problems is antimony — a heavy metal related to arsenic and a key ingredient in the FireWear pants the department required firefighters to wear for more than 15 years as part of their everyday uniforms.
City officials, though, refused to process at least 30 workers compensation claims, even while bending, in October, to the union's demand for plain cotton uniform pants. Instead, the city contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which opened an investigation into the fire-resistant pants on Monday.
"We don't have any evidence of a safety issue, but out of an abundance of caution we have changed out the pants while the matter is being investigated," Deputy City Manager George Brown said. "We have no evidence that there's any link between the pants and heavy-metal poisoning."
A representative of the Cincinnati-based company that sells FireWear clothing, Fechheimer Brothers, said firefighters nationwide have been wearing the pants for more than 15 years.
"To our knowledge, the Boca Raton Fire Department is the only customer ever informing us of a sensitivity to the FireWear fabric," said Fred Heldman, the company's senior vice president, in a statement. "However, since the quality of our products and the safety of our customers are our top priorities, we have contacted the manufacturer that supplies the FireWear fabric to our company and others to gain a greater understanding of the concerns being raised."
Luca said most departments statewide issue plain cotton pants for everyday use. Brown said firefighters with at least two other Florida departments, in Tamarac and Hillsborough County, wear FireWear uniform pants. Both of those departments were cooperating with doctors in the federal probe, officials said.
Hillsborough fire Capt. George Sucarichi said his department, which started issuing the pants about six months ago, had yet to encounter problems. Tamarac Fire Chief Jim Budzinski, whose department has issued the pants for more than 10 years, said his firefighters never complained of symptoms.
"The whole concept behind those pants is to make our firefighters safer," Budzinski said. "If there's something happening that's negating that, we want to know and correct it."
In Boca Raton, Luca and others pulled on the uniform cargo pants, which were woven with fibers containing antimony and other chemicals, every workday for more than a decade. They wore the pants under heavier gear while fighting fires.
"It's a shame because the city should have said, 'We need to look into this,' " said Richard Sicking, a Miami workers compensation attorney representing the firefighters union. "It's sort of like an epidemic. Some people are sicker than others."
A hair analysis by Doctor's Data, a Chicago-based clinical laboratory, in July revealed about four times the acceptable level of antimony in Luca's body; less than 5 percent of people tested had higher levels, according to the lab report.
Dr. Leonard Haimes, a licensed physician who practices holistic medicine in Boca Raton, said Luca's uniform pants were the only possible source of the metal.
"If you take normal people, and you check them for antimony in their bodies, you're not going to find it," Haimes said. "You have to have a source of exposure, and the source of exposure is self-evident: the pants that they've been wearing."
Jack McCartt, a former assistant fire chief in Boca Raton who was hired last summer as fire chief in Dania Beach, said he suffered tremors after wearing the FireWear pants for several years.
"There have been sporadic, numerous illnesses at the fire department that you've got to raise your eyebrows about," said McCartt, who teaches a hazardous materials course at the National Fire Academy. "I think the facts are pretty evident at this point, that they've got a long-term issue with a continuous exposure ... to antimony."
Other firefighters also say that for years the station houses of Boca Raton Fire-Rescue have been visited by strange and inexplicable ailments.
They say there was the former union president who was forced to undergo brain surgery, during which doctors found not the tumor they expected but cloudy cerebral spinal fluid; the battalion chief felled by a strange and rare form of belly cancer; the retiree whose heart was threatened by fluid, and three cardiologists couldn't say why; the captain who suffered crippling headaches; the firefighter tormented by an incurable rash; the handful of thyroid surgeries among young firefighters, who also complained of numbness or tingling in their hands or feet or whose testosterone levels were dramatically low; the recent rash of miscarriages by firefighters' wives.
Of 36 city firefighters tested for heavy-metal toxicity, 30 were found to have "very elevated" levels of antimony in their bodies, said Capt. Phil Santa Maria, chairman of the union committee formed to address health concerns.
"It's real, and it's dangerous," said Haimes, the Boca Raton doctor. "I really feel that these people should be treated. These guys put their lives on the line every day for us, and they got sucked into something here." Boca Raton Assistant Fire Chief Raul Travieso, a 34-year veteran who says he has seen strange symptoms in some firefighters, said: "We're going to try and get to the bottom of this. Our people are our biggest asset, and we don't want to get them sick in any way."
Luca, though, said the union still is waiting to see how the city will respond.
"My concern right now is, are we going to get people treated?" Luca said. "Are we going to turn a blind eye to this?"
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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There are very specific ways that humans can be toxified. I'm aware of this and have done some research when developing the California State Hazmat Technician and Specialist program curriculum back in the 80's. If you would like me to share this information in more detail, please get in touch with me and let me know. I would be more than happy to call you on the phone. These firefighters need help and now. It may not be too late.
MIke
Michael Schlags, Fire Captain / Hazmat Specialist
Santa Barbara, CA
mschlags@yahoo.com
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Permalink Reply by Salty Jake on
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I find this interesting and will be watching this closely to find if this is isolated to Boca Raton. It seems that other FD throughout the nation would have responded to these findings if indeed they feel that the antimony symptoms is present among their ranks, so far I havn't been able to find any such reports on the world wide web.
I do however have some lingering questions; Could this be isolated to Boca Raton because of a response to an unknown HAZ-Mat incident? Are they a department with sick building syndrome? More importantly, have family member also been tested? If they are anything like myself, I wash my station wear with regular clothing at home with a small child in the household. ( Unless I have a known exposure, whether it maybe a haz mat or structure fire, in that event I wash station wear upon returning to quarters using department facilities). Little person(s) need little exposures to show same signs and syptoms. It seems if the FR wear is the cause of the antimony posioning, this incident should not be localized to just Boca Raton firefighters.
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Permalink Reply by T.J. on
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No they are not, actually I don't know of any department around use that wear FR duty pants.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on
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I was thinking the sick building syndrome also. We have worn FR pants on and off for years. We currently wear Workrite FR pants. Before that we wore Lion FR pants. Not one person has had any problems. We almost all wash our uniforms at work also. I think this is a premature letter that has been sent out and may lead to litigation from the manufacturer.
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Ah... Mr. French I presume? Where would I be without my wingman. You da' man! As always, your right on target once again... Cheers... : ) ms
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yet another reason for one to have blood samples taken and tested including a hazmat and heavy metal panel... now you have some folks who have been exposed to something but possibly no base level for comparison... bottom line, in my opinion, is to have your doctor next time you do your physical or whatever reason you can couple with the visit to save some HMO bucks... ask for a blood draw and get a copy of the results. Your doctor will explain them to you and you will be able to easily identify increases for specific things and tie them into the incident... It's a cheap insurance policy if your department does not provide this for you and it provides some degree of protection for your family should you have less than desireable results from an exposure. ms
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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J. Brooks,
The letter that was copied and pasted to start this thread is straight from www.firefighterclosecalls.com
My department has worn various FR treated pants and shirts for 15 years and we are now monitoring this investigation. I would assume a fulltime fire department, the city, the union for that matter, would know if they were to have exposed their entire department to a specific hazmat incident.
I do know that some childrens FR coated sleepwear has had some issue and many were removed or recalled from the market. The fact that firefighters sweat and we all understand the routes of exposure, maybe it has a link maybe not.
But Prostate and Testicular Cancer are extremely high in the fire service.
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I got the same letter from the TSL, and I highly respect Chief Goldfeder and his information. I just think there needs to be a lot more investigation into this. I think that the entire department needs to be tested, support staff as well.
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Does anyone know what brand pants these are? We have worn both Lion and Workrite and have had no problems. I suppose it is possible that each manufacturer could be treating their clothes differently.
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Permalink Reply by PA Firefighter on
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Yes, we have been wearing FireWear for over 10 years. Thanks to the article in FF Close Calls we have changed to Nomex III for this year. I don't know that there is a problem, but it's not worth the risk to our people.
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From another site....
CDC investigating safety of firefighters' pants
By Ron Menchaca (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The city of Charleston moved quickly last year to replace its firefighters' polyester station uniforms after The Post and Courier reported that the material could melt in high heat and subject firefighters to unnecessary danger.
But the brand of fire-retardant pants the city bought to replace the old ones is now the subject of a federal health investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency launched its probe last week at the request of the Boca Raton (Fla.) Fire Department, where tests on some 30 firefighters who wear the same type of pants as Charleston firefighters detected high levels of antimony, a metallic chemical element that can cause health problems after long exposures.
Previous stories
Uniform under scrutiny; Firefighters wear polyester that can melt, cling to skin, published 08/29/07
Fire Department chooses uniform; New material meets national standards, published 12/06/07
At least 50 Boca Raton firefighters showed symptoms of heavy-metal poisoning that their union thinks are linked to the flame retardant in the pants, according to a report in Saturday's Palm Beach Post. Boca Raton firefighters wore the pants as part of their uniforms for more than 15 years. But Boca Raton officials agreed in October to replace the pants with a cotton brand after facing pressure from the firefighters union. Charleston Fire Chief Thomas Carr Jr. said he began looking into the issue Monday after reading about the concerns in Florida.
"Certainly it's concerning. It does seem to be the same pants we wear. If it's a legitimate issue, we will need to do something about it," he said.
But there's not much the department can do until it receives some guidance from the uniform's manufacturer or federal health officials, Carr said.
The manufacturer of the Flying Cross FireWear pants, Fechheimer Brothers, did not respond to calls seeking comment Monday. The Cincinnati-based company told the Palm Beach Post that it thinks the Boca Raton department is the first to raise concerns about the pants.
"However, since the quality of our products and the safety of our customers are our top priorities, we have contacted the manufacturer that supplies the FireWear fabric to our company and others to gain a greater understanding of the concerns being raised," Fred Heldman, the company's senior vice president, told the Florida paper.
Firefighter Coverage
In our special section with photos, videos, interactives, donation information and every story written about the tragedy. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the division of the CDC looking into the health concerns, hopes to determine whether Boca Raton firefighters "are exposed to antimony by wearing uniform pants that contain antimony trioxide as a flame retardant," public affairs specialist Fred Blosser said.
The pants at issue are worn by firefighters around their station houses and underneath their protective gear at fire scenes.
Jeffrey Stull is an expert on protective clothing who analyzed the remnants of the uniforms worn by the nine Charleston firefighters who perished at last year's Sofa Super Store blaze. He said antimony has been in common use in firefighter uniforms for a decade or more.
But laundering and regular use of the treated pants can cause the chemical to "leach out" over time, Stull said. He added that inhalation is the primary concern with antimony but absorption through the skin also can cause health problems if it occurs over a long enough period.
Long-term exposure to antimony can cause eye irritation, lung problems, stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, ulcers and other ailments, according to the CDC. Boca Raton firefighters have reported a variety of health issues over the years, including cancer, numbness and tingling in their hands and feet, headaches and rashes.
A Charleston Fire Department committee spent weeks last year studying different types of uniforms to replace the polyester type, which did not meet national guidelines. The group eventually selected fire-retardant pants and T-shirts as their station uniform. The city used a $230,000 donation from local businessman Gene Reed to pay for the new uniforms.
Bill Haigler, an engineer at the Fire Department's Cainhoy station and president of the Charleston firefighters' union, said he's been pleased with the performance of the uniforms since they were ordered last year.
"I've not heard any complaints," Haigler said. "Since we've just been made aware of the apparent issue, we have to wait and see what comes of the investigation."
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