Former Fire Battalion Chief Michael Karl McNeil: Firefighter Cancer Prevention Has to Continue After the Fire Is Out
With firefighting classified as carcinogenic to humans and California moving to take PFAS out of turnout gear, the former firefighter and industrial hygienist says the largest gap left is exposure control during overhaul, on the ride back, and at the station.
Michael Karl McNeil, a Former Fire Battalion Chief with 25 years in the fire service and now a Registered Industrial Hygienist, is urging fire agencies to treat firefighter cancer prevention as an exposure-control program with measurable steps, not a slogan. His argument: the science and the law have both moved, and station practice has to move with them.
In June 2022 a working group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer evaluated occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic to humans, Group 1, the agency's highest category, on sufficient evidence in humans. The evaluation, published as IARC Monographs Volume 132, found that the work causes mesothelioma and bladder cancer. IARC had placed firefighting in Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic, in 2007.
"I spent a career breathing what came off those fires," McNeil said. "For most of it, the dirty helmet was a badge. We now know it was a dose."
The law is catching up to the gear
California has acted on the gear itself. Senate Bill 1044, signed in 2020, restricted PFAS-containing Class B firefighting foam and required sellers of firefighter protective equipment to tell purchasers when the equipment contains intentionally added PFAS. Assembly Bill 1181, chaptered in October 2025 as Chapter 392 of the Statutes of 2025, directs the Cal/OSHA Standards Board to consider revising its firefighter protective equipment safety order by January 1, 2028, to address performance requirements that lead to PFAS, fluoropolymers, flame retardants and other hazardous substances being used in turnout gear.
On the care side, NFPA 1850, which consolidated the former NFPA 1851 on turnout gear and NFPA 1852 on SCBA, took effect on September 9, 2025. It strengthens cleaning and decontamination requirements, separates clean from contaminated gear in storage and transport, and assigns defined program roles for protective clothing.
"Removing PFAS from the gear removes one source," McNeil said. "It does nothing about the soot, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the particulate that land on that gear and on the firefighter at every structure fire. That part is still decided by what a crew does in the first hour after knockdown."
Where exposure is still uncontrolled
McNeil points to three places where, in his experience, exposure continues after the fire is out.
Overhaul. Fire-gas concentrations drop after knockdown, but combustion products and fine particulate remain while crews pull ceilings and open walls. SCBA comes off because the visible smoke is gone. McNeil recommends that agencies keep respiratory protection in service through overhaul and make the decision to remove it on measurements, not on how the air looks.
The ride back. Contaminated gear in the cab carries the fireground into an enclosed space. On-scene gross decontamination, bagging of turnouts before transport, and a clean-cab rule close that pathway.
Wildland and interface smoke. California's wildfire smoke standard, Title 8 Section 5141.1, protects outdoor workers when the PM2.5 Air Quality Index reaches 151, but it expressly exempts firefighters engaged in wildland firefighting. "That exemption is there for a reason; you cannot run a fireline by an AQI chart," McNeil said. "But it means the protection for firefighters has to come from the agency's own program. The general-industry rule will not supply it."
Documentation protects the firefighter
California Labor Code Section 3212.1 presumes that cancer in covered firefighters arose out of their employment, provided the firefighter was exposed to a known carcinogen. The statute also lets the employer dispute that presumption with evidence that the carcinogen is not reasonably linked to the disabling cancer.
"The presumption is strong, and it can still be contested," McNeil said. "An exposure record kept incident by incident, what burned, how long, what protection was worn, is the evidence a firefighter will need twenty years from now. Most firefighters leave the job without one." He recommends a standing exposure log for every member, completed at the end of each incident, kept with the training and medical files.
What McNeil offers fire agencies
Through McNeil Safety Consulting, McNeil assists fire agencies, fire districts and their counsel with industrial hygiene exposure assessment, decontamination and gear-handling program reviews against NFPA 1850, exposure documentation systems, and expert review of occupational exposure questions. His fire service background includes California State Fire Marshal and National Wildfire Coordinating Group qualifications and service as a Fire Battalion Chief with a federal fire agency. He is a Registered Environmental Professional (REP), Registered Industrial Hygienist (RIH), Emergency Planning Professional (EPP) and Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD).
Where to read the record
Firefighter and fire officer record: firefightermichaelkarlmcneil.org
From firefighter to Battalion Chief: firefighter-michael-karl-mcneil.blog
Industrial hygiene and fire-related services: mcneilsafetyconsulting.com
About McNeil Safety Consulting
McNeil Safety Consulting is an independent environmental health and safety, industrial hygiene and expert consulting practice in San Gabriel, California, led by Michael Karl McNeil, REP, RIH, EPP, QSD, a Former Fire Battalion Chief. The practice serves employers, attorneys and public agencies in California and across the Western states with Cal/OSHA and OSHA citation defense, industrial hygiene exposure assessment, hazardous materials and emergency planning, fatality and serious-injury analysis, and expert witness work. Michael does not subcontract his work; every engagement is handled by him directly. To request a consultation, call (626) 546-9384 or visit mcneilsafetyconsulting.com.
Media Contact
Michael Karl McNeil, McNeil Safety Consulting, 1 6265469384, [email protected], McNeil Safety Consulting
SOURCE McNeil Safety Consulting