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Firefighters may have new protection from cancer, thanks to former firefighter

The number one cause of firefighter deaths is not fire, not directly any way. It’s actually cancer. From 9/11 first responders to local municipality firefighters across America, our brave women and men are dying of “occupational cancers”. And now, one former firefighter thinks he’s come up with a solution.

One time El Mirage, Arizona firefighter Ed Cunningham has created what he calls the Rehnke Decon Kit. The kit is named for Peoria Firefighter Captain Dave Rehnke. Rehnke is currently battling kidney cancer. And 3 Arizona firefighters have died from these occupational cancers in the past 6 months. According to a recent Baylor University study, a firefighter’s suit and gear contains “more than 30” carcinogens after fighting a fire.

When a firefighter leaves a firefight, the toxins used to fight the fire are all over their gear. Once that happens, as Cunningham explains, “it [toxin soaked gear] becomes our greatest threat”. The Rehnke Decon Kit is a compound that once applied to the suit and gear “will start soaking in and actually binding in to all the toxins, carcinogens and poisons and removing them from even as deep as the thread…” For years now, the method of removing the toxins has simply been soap and water. Ed Cunningham believes his method isn’t only better, the Rehnke Decon Kit “completely detoxifies”. Cunningham and another firefighter even believe they’ve come up with an answer for what to do once the toxins have reached the skin. They’ve created towelettes they're calling FireWipes.

Presently, the Queen Creek Fire Department in Arizona is the only one using the Rehnke Decon Kit, but the hope is that like the fires these brave women and men fight, its use will spread.

To read the article in full over at Arizona Family, follow this link: https://bit.ly/2XJdg1M