There is a new layer in the fight to protect first responders from cancer and chronic diseases that run rampant in the fire service. We've been on toxic chemicals in the gear that firefighters wear to emergency scenes, but new science shows toxic chemicals in their station uniforms, the ones they wear all day, that could make the risk even more grave.

For fire lieutenant Bryan Goodman, there was a breaking point.

And why, he wondered, are so many young firefighters suffering from life-changing medical conditions that have been linked to toxins in the gear they wear?

For Goodman and his wife, it meant losing the chance for a family they'd always dreamed of, as he found out after many tests, he was irreversibly infertile.

"It was hard," Goodman said. "But the one thing that I wanted to do was fix this the best way I could so that nobody else would have to deal with that."

Goodman attributes his infertility to exposure to PFAS, toxic chemicals found to be embedded in firefighting gear, also scientifically linked to cancer and chronic disease. Goodman told us his PFAS levels were 166 times higher than average.

It turns out, PFAS isn't only in the gear, but it can lurk in the everyday clothing firefighters are required to live in at the fire station. They can be in that station uniform 24 hours a day during their shift.

This chilling new layer, discovered by Bryan and fellow Virginia firefighter Charlene Beach, revealed PFAS in some station uniforms, as well as other hazardous chemicals like heavy metals and brominated flame retardants.

"Your body does not have a way to detox or get rid of these chemicals and things that are lingering in your body," Beach said. "It's just building and building and building until your body goes, 'I can't deal with it.'"

Dr. Graham Peaslee launched this conversation back in 2018 when he first found toxic chemicals in turnout gear. Now, he's warning about station wear that can contain chemicals designed for the convenience of odor prevention or fire-proofing, but can have consequences for human health.

"We're taking some of our most young and vulnerable people to be wearing these clothing for long periods of time," Peaslee said.

His new research is expected to be published in a peer reviewed journal this year.

Among his concerns were dyes, coloring agents and hazardous flame retardants, but chief among them were heavy metals.

"I think the metals scare me the most," he said.

On top of that, there's an added potential risk of firefighters who layer PFAS-laden turnout gear over their station wear under extreme temperatures.

The concern is being flagged by the scientific community, and is playing out in litigation over turnout gear. But as regulation lags, potential exposure continues.

"It's odd that we have to poison somebody before it gets taken out of service," Peaslee said. "The idea is to be proactive and say, 'look, if you have these two chemicals that can be used, which one is safer?'"

Back in Virginia, Goodman and Beach aren't waiting for the industry and law to protect their brothers and sisters. They looked at the market to see if they could find PFAS-free and non-toxic station wear.

"Nobody was doing it," Goodman said. "Nobody was making it."

So they did, founding a company that makes toxin-free station gear, with hopes that new awareness brings a safer future.

"Once it gets out there and fire departments actually start reading the research, I think it'll be a game changer because you can't hide the fact that you know it and you have to act," Beach said.