Firefighters are being warned that gear designed to protect them from extreme heat contains chemicals leading to cancer.

This week, the International Association of Fire Fighters — a union representing firefighters and paramedics — and the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association issued a joint statement advising members that “all three layers” of their protective clothing contains Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS.

The chemicals are associated with illnesses that include liver and kidney cancer.

A statement from IAFF president Edward Kelly called on members to reduce their exposure to PFAS by using their gear only for “emergency responses where the protection is a necessity.”

For more on this story, CHMA spoke to Glenn Miller, president of the Atlantic Provinces Professional Fire Fighters Association, part of the IAFF. He’s a shift captain with the Riverview Fire Department and a trained paramedic. 

CHMA started by asking him about the prevalence of cancer among members.