East Providence firefighters become first in U.S. to use non-PFAS gear

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The East Providence Fire Department has become the first department in the country to use non-PFAS turnout gear.

According to the City of East Providence, the gear is the first to fully exclude the use of fluorinated chemistry, which has been shown to cause cancer.

A spokesperson for the City of East Providence said the moisture barrier of turnout gear has “historically relied on” the chemicals for repellency and pathogen resistance, but the introduction of AssureTM in October 2024 created a solution to exclude PFAS chemistry from all three layers of the gear.

“Bottom line is, our first responders, they put their lives on the line everyday for our residents,” East Providence Mayor Roberto DaSilva said. “When you have them using equipment that is putting their lives on the line, it was time to make a change. The chief came to me and said, ‘look, we have an opportunity to partner with Milliken and Fire-Dex to get this product out to our guys and to our women on the fire department,’ and that’s what we did, we spared no expense, and we are proud to be the first in the nation.”

All 125 full-time firefighters at the station will receive the new gear.

The gear was funded in part by a $658,000 investment by the City of East Providence.