Retired Valley firefighter creates decontamination kits for other firefighters

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - The contents of this bucket could potentially be life-saving for firefighters. The D-7 solution helps to get rid of harmful contaminants off their skin, uniforms, and gear.

"The plastics that give off, even the flame retardment spray that's on upholstered furniture, the bi-product of that combusting is very harsh and very poisonous to firefighters," Ed Cunningham said.

Retired firefighter Ed Cunningham partnered with a Peoria firefighter, who had been diagnosed with cancer in 2011, to create the kits.

"We really had three points we wanted to, Dave and I, when we sat down to design this," Cunningham said. "Tt was to make it a complete comprehensive and thorough decontamination, to make it small enough compact enough that it fits in one compartment on an engine, and to make it cheap enough to make it a no brainer for departments and cities to put this in their budget."

Battalion chief with the Surprise Fire Department, Julie Moore says 15 buckets have been purchased and will be placed in every engine and vehicle in the city. The hope is to have a kit like this in every fire truck nationwide.