The federal government has introduced new legislation to better protect firefighters from harmful chemicals when responding to fires.
Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson, announced a comprehensive action plan to protect firefighters from harmful chemicals released during household fires. Perth East and West Perth Fire Chief, Bill Hunter, says almost every fire involves hazardous toxins.
"I would say that just about every house fire that we would attend, there would be some form of these toxins in the air from the smoke, just based on the majority of furniture and items in homes would already have those chemicals, the flame retardant substances, in them."
Hunter says manufacturers of home furniture and appliances are doing their due diligence in making fire retardant things, but when they do eventually burn, the chemicals are very harmful. He says he looks forward to seeing research done regarding better materials to build with, and better PPE equipment possibly, too, to keep firefighters around the world safer.
"Any testing or research that's gonna be done, I think the entire fire service would be interested in seeing what kind of effect these chemicals are potentially having on our firefighters."
In regards to making things fire retardant, Hunter says it's obviously a good idea in practice, but there could be better materials to use and a better way forward for manufacturers because the chemical fumes are deadly to not just firefighters but people they're trying to rescue.
"The downside is that when those things do eventually start to flame and create smoke, the toxins coming off it are not good, and that's why it's so important that this research be done."