Summer seems like a long time ago, but for many in Eastern Washington the summer of 2014 is one they won’t soon forget. The fire-scarred landscape and property reduced to ashes are a reminder of what a destructive force fire can be.

Firefighters worked tirelessly to save what we could and reduce the risk to life and property for everyone in the fires’ path. It’s what we do. As one firefighter put it, “The fire doesn’t win. We win.”

But more and more, firefighters are losing – and it’s not to fire, but to cancer. Every time we go to fight a fire, we are exposed to a wide variety of toxic chemicals that create toxic smoke when burning. That toxic smoke is actually soaked up into our protective gear and then can seep right into our skin.

Everyone knows that firefighting is a hazardous occupation but, until recently, cancer wasn’t considered a primary occupational hazard. In fact, firefighters have higher rates of all cancers combined than the U.S. population.

For decades, manufacturing companies have been using extremely harmful flame retardants in sofas and children’s products, including car seats, cribs, nap mats and changing pads, instead of fireproofing products in a way that is not toxic to the health of children or firefighters.

These cancer-causing and neurotoxic chemicals are found in products in the name of fire safety, and become especially harmful when exposed to the heat of a fire. They are, however, toxic and dangerous in our homes even without being burned. Flame retardants escape into the air and are exposing our kids to harmful chemicals each and every day.

And now we know that these chemicals are not necessary for fire safety. The California furniture standard that drove much of the use of these harmful chemicals has now been updated and companies can, and are, using inherently fire-resistant materials and other methods to achieve fire-safe products.

However, there is no law to prevent companies from using cancer-causing chemicals in their products, and that’s why we need the Washington Legislature to pass the Toxic-Free Kids and Families Act, HB 1174.

Firefighters are working with doctors, nurses, faith communities, environmentalists and women’s health advocates to pass this bill in Olympia. It will ban the six most toxic flame retardants found in children’s products and furniture, and establish a process to prevent the use of equally bad or worse toxic flame retardants from being used as replacements.

It’s time for the Legislature to stand up to the out-of-state chemical companies and do the right thing for firefighters, children and our communities, and pass HB 1174, Toxic-Free Kids and Families Act, in 2015.