Lompoc Fire Department installs system to extract cancer-causing fumes from fire station garages
LOMPOC, Calif. – The Lompoc Fire Department has installed a new system to remove dangerous fumes from engine bays at both of the city's fire stations.
The "exhaust extraction system" removes diesel fumes, other toxic gases and particulate from engine combustion that would normally fill the engine bays at the fire stations. The fumes are carcinogenic, meaning they have been proven to cause cancer.
Pipes connect magnetically to the engine bay and funnels the dangerous fumes through a filter system and pushes it out of the roof of the facility. The pipes attach any time a fire engine is running in the engine bay, Lompoc fire said.
The new system was paid for by the city's general fund at a cost of about $100,000.
Recently, a Lompoc firefighter had to step away from the job while he received treatment for work-related cancer. That firefighter has since returned to work.
Nunez says the new system will protect firefighters from unseen dangers of the job.
“Every fire station should have one of these," Nunez said. "This is going to be a game changer.”
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