St. Johns County firefighters receive specialty hoods

The nonprofit organization Hoods For Heroes has donated $40,000 worth of specialty hoods in an effort to protect firefighters in St. Johns County from heightened exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.

SJCFR says the donation will equip every one of the 330 firefighters in the county. They say the hoods serve a potentially life-saving dual purpose, by both protecting from burns and blocking carcinogens from getting to the skin of the firefighters. HFH says head and neck skin is thinner, and therefore what they want to ensure is protected from potentially absorbing cancer causing chemicals.

HFH says this donation was in partnership with Cancer Specialists of North Florida.

HFH and CSNF has also recently donated hoods in Clay County, and the nonprofit hopes to ultimately raise funds to equip every firefighter across the country with a hood.