By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
A new decontamination and rehabilitation truck developed by Stanstead Battalion Chief Brian Wharry is now operational across the Régie incendie Memphrémagog Est (RIME), aiming to significantly reduce the risk of cancer and other health hazards faced by firefighters.
Wharry, who is currently undergoing treatment for leukemia, spearheaded the project out of personal conviction and professional concern. “Cancer has a little bit of a passion of mine—reducing the risk for anybody, if possible,” he said during an interview.
The idea for the dedicated truck emerged from conversations between Wharry, then-interim director Dany Brus. Recognizing that fire chiefs are too busy during emergency calls to manage decontamination and rehabilitation, Wharry proposed a vehicle that could be dispatched automatically to building fires throughout the RIME region to handle those needs.
Wharry began repurposing a retired vehicle in late 2024, equipping it through the winter to meet stringent safety and hygiene requirements. The truck now carries everything needed for on-site firefighter support, including hydration supplies like water, Gatorade, coffee, and snacks, as well as a tent setup for vital sign monitoring and cooling or warming down after exertion.
After using two air bottles in a structural fire, firefighters are now required by the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) to undergo a 20-minute recovery period. “We check their vital signs—pulse and breathing—and make sure they’re getting adequate nourishment and rest,” Wharry explained. First responders manage this process, calling in paramedics if any issues arise.
Equally critical is the post-fire decontamination process, which aims to minimize firefighters’ exposure to carcinogens. “Anybody that’s in that toxic environment—they have to be washed,” Wharry said. Firefighters stay fully suited, including air packs, while trained personnel hose them down, spray them with a decontamination solution, rinse them, and then remove gear following strict procedures to avoid contact with contaminants. All gear is then bagged and sent back to the station for specialized cleaning.
The need for such a service is underscored by recent updates from CNESST, which now recognizes 15 types of cancers as presumptively linked to firefighting—an increase from nine as of May 1, Wharry said. This change aligns with research from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which confirms elevated cancer rates among firefighters due to exposure to smoke, chemicals, diesel exhaust, and other toxic substances.
The RIMÉ truck is dispatched automatically as soon as a structure fire is confirmed. Although not needed immediately on scene, the team typically arrives within 30 to 45 minutes, in time to begin processing firefighters as they rotate out of the active fire zone.
The decontamination process is complemented by newer fire station protocols. “The colour-coding—the red, yellow, and green zones—is all part of making sure that the contaminants don’t cross over into the living quarters,” Wharry noted. Gear is cleaned in designated ‘hot zones’ and not allowed into the station’s ‘green zone,’ where office and living areas are located.
Wharry emphasized the standardization of the process. “It’s always the same process unless there’s a hazardous material involved. Then it’s a very different process,” he said. For ordinary structure fires, however, all personnel inside the smoke environment are treated the same way.
The truck is currently based at the Stanstead Township station but is intended to serve the broader RIME area, which includes municipalities such as Ayer’s Cliff, North Hatley, Stanstead, and even as far as Barnston West. It will eventually be relocated to Ayer’s Cliff, once the new fire station there is complete.
“This truck is about taking one thing off the fire chief’s plate during a call,” Wharry said. “We manage the rehab and decontamination, and hopefully, that reduces the long-term health risks for our team.”
A group photo of all 20 fire trucks in the region and their crews is currently being planned for this Friday, an initiative Wharry said would a chance to celebrate the teamwork behind RIME’s growing health and safety capacity.
