San Francisco firefighters are finally getting the protective gear they were promised after years’ long research revealed certain chemicals used in traditional firefighter uniforms can cause cancer.

“What none of us could have known is that some of the very gear designed to protect us was quietly harming us,” said San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen, who spoke alongside dozens of first responders on Thursday as he announced the city’s $3.6 million plan to provide protective equipment to all frontline firefighters by the end of the year.  “This is a joyous occasion for our city.”

The San Francisco fire department, the tenth largest in the nation, has already distributed the redesigned gear to about 80 of its firefighters and hopes to have all 1,100 of its new uniforms in use within the next three weeks – that’s enough protective equipment to provide one uniform to each of the city’s frontline firefighters.  While city leaders hope to eventually purchase a second set of gear, San Francisco firefighters will, for now, need to wash their new gear before returning to work or continue to rely on their old uniform as a backup.

“Public safety relies on the people who stand between danger and our residents,” Mayor Lurie told the crowd during Thursday’s announcement.  “Firefighter health must always be at the center of our decisions.”

San Francisco’s efforts stem from a first-in-the-nation ban that local lawmakers passed last year, which requires the city to outfit firefighters with new uniforms by July 2026. Over the years, studies have shown the jackets and pants firefighters across America have long relied on to keep safe during emergencies are made with materials proven to cause cancer. 

These so-called “PFAS” materials, often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ because of their reluctance to breakdown, have long been used to bolster the reliability of firefighter clothing by helping to repel flammable liquids and reduce temperatures, even in extreme heat.  Researchers, however, have found the compounds to be harmful when absorbed through skin. While the precise level of PFAS exposure for firefighters and the associated health risks are still being studied, the compounds have been linked to cancer and other negative health effects impacting cholesterol levels and the immune system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

PFAS aside, the inherit health risks of firefighting, including prolonged exposure to smoke and ash, led the World Health Organization to deem the occupation a “carcinogen.”  Yet, some fear the very safety uniforms firefighters have come to rely on for protection could also be making them sick. 

In San Francisco, female firefighters have a six times higher rate of breast cancer than the national average, according to the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation. More than 400 firefighters in San Francisco have been lost to cancer over the past 20 years, according to the city’s fire department.

“The cost of inaction is measured in funerals,” said Stephen Gilman, who represents the local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). “The reward of action is measured in lives saved.”

While materials laced with PFAS have been shown to pose safety risks, so has fire gear that has been manufactured without it.  Last year, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit reported on research from North Carolina State University that found non-PFAS fire equipment to be less breathable and more flammable than traditional uniforms made with PFAS.

“We don’t want to just trade one hazard for another,” Dr. Bryan Ormand told the Investigative Unit back in May 2024.  “We’re introducing a potential hazard for flammability on the fire scene where firefighters didn’t have that before.”

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a city-wide ban of what are known as ‘PFAS’ or ‘forever chemicals,’ but replacement options still aren’t widely available and those that are seem be raising new safety concerns. Senior Investigator Bigad Shaban reports.

Milliken & Company, the textile firm that made the material for San Francisco’s latest uniforms, said the new type of gear “meets or exceeds” all industry standards for “breathability and thermal protection.” 

“We refused to trade one hazard for another,” Marcio Manique, senior vice president and managing director of Milliken’s apparel business, noted in a written statement.

“It meets the strictest performance standards without adding weight or compromising breathability – giving firefighters exactly what they asked for.”

In San Francisco, the new gear underwent a 90-day test trial with 50 of the city’s own firefighters.

“What we did was we actually went through a really comprehensive testing process,” Chief Crispen told the Investigative Unit.  “It went to the lab and received testing and everything came back great, so we feel strongly about this product.”

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SAN FRANCISCO — A gas explosion started a major fire in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood on Thursday, damaging several homes and sending heavy smoke into the air.

Local outlets said there are possible injuries from the Hayward explosion.

A spokesperson with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said a construction crew damaged an underground gas line around 7:35 a.m. The company said it was not their workers.

Utility workers isolated the damaged line and stopped the flow of gas at 9:25 a.m., PG&E said. The explosion occurred shortly afterward.

It’s another packed night at La Cigale in San Francisco, where chef Joseph Magidow works the hearth like a conductor, each dish part of a high-end Southern French feast for the fifteen diners lucky enough to score a front-row seat. 

It feels like the beginning of any great night out, until you realize this restaurant has quietly removed the part of dining that usually causes the most indigestion.

“You get to the end and all of a sudden you have this check and it’s like a Spirit Airlines bill where it’s like plus this plus plus that,” Magidow said.

So La Cigale made a rare move: they “86ed” the surprise charges, restaurant-speak for taking something off the menu. Dinner here is all-inclusive at $140 per person, but with no tax, no tip, no service fees. Just the price on the menu and that’s the price you pay.

“There’s no tip line on the check. When you sign the bill, that’s the end of the transaction,” Magidow said. 

Though still rare, across the country, more restaurants are test-driving tip-free dining, a pushback against what many now call “tip-flation.” A recent survey found 41% of Americans think tipping has gotten out of control.

La Cigale customer, Jenny Bennett, said that while she believes in tipping, she liked the idea of waiters being paid a fair wage. 

“Everywhere you go, even for the smallest little item, they’re flipping around the little iPad,” she said. 

At La Cigale, servers make about $40 an hour whether the night is slow or slammed. The upside is stability. The downside? No big-tip windfalls. 

But for server and sommelier Claire Bivins, it was a trade she was happy to take.

“It creates a little bit of a sense of security for everyone and definitely takes a degree of pressure off from each night,” she said. 

The stability doesn’t end there. La Cigale offers paid vacation, a perk most restaurant workers only dream of.

For Magidow, ditching tips also means leaving behind a system rooted in America’s painful past.

“It was a model that was created to take former enslaved people, who many of them went into the hospitality industry, after slavery and put them in a position where they are still being controlled by the guest.”

And as for the bottom line? It hasn’t taken a hit. 

“It seems like everyone is leaving happy,” Magidow said. “That’s really all we can hope for.”