WVFD to Go PFAS-Free

Weston Today photo

Members of the Weston Volunteer Fire Department voted to withdraw up to $215,000 from their benevolent fund to equip Weston firefighters with gear free of PFAS, the “forever chemicals” linked to numerous health problems.

In the photo above, firefighter Nelson Bukov tries on one of the new suits.

The purchase, said WVFD president Craig Cohen, will increase safety for all 50 or so active firefighters who respond to interior structural blazes, and will do so years before a state mandate takes effect.

“The Town is doing its part,” said Fire Chief John Pokorny, including recent decisions to set aside money in a sinking fund to replace aging fire trucks. The Town budget also includes an allocation each year for incremental gear replacement, funds that may have allowed the department to make a gradual PFAS-free transition before the mandatory 2028 deadline.

The spend authorized by the department’s members makes it happen very soon, and may possibly make Weston the first in the state to do so.

“This is for the direct safety of our members, said Chief Pokorny. “The liners of our current gear have PFAS. When you get into a fire and your body heats up and sweats, your pores open, and that’s when this stuff enters your body. Firefighter safety is everything for us. That’s what we spend our own money on.”

Mr. Cohen said outfitting everyone right away would avoid a problem where some volunteer firefighters were equipped with safer gear while others were not. It would also forestall fulfillment delays as the deadline draws nearer and bigger departments begin to place large orders.

“Right now, products are out there,” said Mr. Cohen. “And they are a lot safer than what we have now.”

Volunteers line up for fittings behind firefighter John Braden

It’s a fit for Mr. Bukov