By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
- San Francisco — SFFD is switching its entire frontline to PFAS-free turnout gear, becoming the largest U.S. department to fully transition. firerescue1.com+1
- Funded by a $2.35M FEMA AFG grant plus city match; ~1,100 sets for every suppression member by Dec. 31, 2025. firerescue1.com
- Gear uses Milliken Assure moisture barrier and Fire-Dex ensemble; UL-certified to NFPA standards. firerescue1.com+1
- Move accelerates a May 2024 city PFAS ban on turnout gear requiring full replacement by June 30, 2026. firerescue1.com+1
- Department ran a 90-day wear trial with 50 firefighters before selecting the package. firerescue1.com
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Fire Department is outfitting every frontline firefighter with PFAS-free turnout gear by year’s end, a shift city leaders say makes SFFD the largest department in the country to complete a full transition away from fluorinated “forever chemicals.” The rollout pairs a $2.35 million FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grantwith matching city funds and covers about 1,100 sets of gear—one per suppression member. firerescue1.com+1
SFFD selected a system built around Milliken’s Assure moisture barrier—introduced in late 2024—and a Fire-Dexensemble. Officials said the barrier’s arrival closed a long-standing technical gap and enabled a fully non-PFAS solution that still meets rigorous performance requirements. The department reports the gear is UL-certified, meeting legacy NFPA 1971 (2018) benchmarks and the updated NFPA 1970-2025 standard. firerescue1.com+1
The move accelerates San Francisco’s May 2024 ordinance—the first of its kind nationally—banning PFAS in firefighter turnout gear by June 30, 2026. To validate performance before committing citywide, SFFD conducted a 90-day wear trial with 50 firefighters in live-fire training prior to procurement. firerescue1.com+1
Fire Chief Dean Crispen framed the transition as a health and readiness investment, citing the department’s elevated cancer risk profile and years of advocacy from labor and cancer-prevention groups. Local coverage highlighted the city’s cancer-screening initiatives and the push to align protective equipment with evolving toxic-exposure science. San Francisco Chronicle
Vendors and city officials said the transition demonstrates that PFAS-free does not require a trade-off in protection or breathability—an issue that persisted until a compliant moisture barrier was available. Product literature notes that Assure is non-PFAS, non-halogenated and designed to meet or exceed certification thresholds. Fire Apparatus+1
Editor’s note: The city says all frontline sets will be in service by Dec. 31, 2025, well ahead of the ordinance deadline.firerescue1.com