Hot Picks: Clothes Washers & Dryers

It’s a simple truth: No fire department can succeed at ensuring the well-being of its personnel without using all of the tools that are at its disposal.

Among the essential components to maintaining a healthy environment for members at the firehouse are the humble washing machine and dryer. Laundry appliances might get overlooked as part of a department’s arsenal, but they shouldn’t be, Scott Csendes of architectural firm KZF Design says. Csendes, who is the director of KZF’s Civic & Public Safety Group, states, “We’re spending a lot of time regarding washers and dryers. When you are planning a new fire station, you have to pull together all the systems. If they are not configured, you are defeating the purpose,” and that includes laundry appliances, he tells Firehouse Magazine.

Station zones & laundry

Stations work best when Hot, Warm and Cold Zones are designated. Of course, the configurations vary according to a department’s size and space, but there are common themes: Hot Zones are those that have the most exposure to contaminants—where turnout gear and apparatus are kept. It’s where members leave their turnout gear to be cleaned in extractors and drying closets. Members then move to a Warm Zone, and the clothes that they had on under the turnout gear are put into the same kinds of washing machines and dryers that are marketed to civilians. After showering and putting on fresh clothes, members move to the living quarters and administrative areas. Another set of washing machines and dryers in this Cold Zone take care of uniforms that are worn at the station and bedding.

Chief Mike Passarelli of the Tallmadge, OH, Fire Department is a three-time cancer survivor. He is passionate about reducing carcinogens, including in the firehouse. His department will open a new Station 2 in July 2022, and the department purchased a large-capacity washer for the new station.

“Prostate cancer is recognized in Ohio as predisposition for workers’ compensation,” Passarelli explains. “It’s presumed you got it on the job.” (According to research that was conducted by Firefighter Cancer Support Network, firefighters have a 1.28 times greater risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer than the general U.S. population.)

“I have a passion to do this for the guys coming after me,” Passarelli says. “I cannot emphasize the importance of this more.”

The Lebanon, OH, Fire Division was in the process of completing the construction of the first purpose-built station in the department’s history as this article went to press. The new station sports a 19,000-square-foot decontamination area that’s located in the apparatus bay that has a commercial front-load washing machine and dryer. Another washer and dryer are in the living quarters, strictly for uniforms.

Steve Johnson, who is the chief of department, says that Lebanon used government money that was made available to first responders at the onset of the pandemic to purchase two sets of washing machines and dryers for the new firehouse and one set for the department’s other firehouse. The new firehouse will service seven full-time and five part-time personnel on any given day.

“We typically see clients either purchase larger units or run more staggered loads to avoid the need for more pairs of washers/dryers in firehouses with larger personnel counts,” Csendes tells Firehouse Magazine.

Passarelli agrees. “Think five or six members. You don’t need multiple washers and dryers [in any one zone]. Just do another load.”

In addition to carcinogens from fires, potential contaminants span a variety of bad things, such as particulates and fluids that are picked up from chemical runs, Csendes says.

“Bedbugs, COVID, whatever,” Lebanon Fire Division’s Johnson adds.

Csendes believes that washing machines that are placed in a Warm Zone should have a capacity of at least four cubic feet.

Rashmitha Matta of Electrolux says that washing machines and dryers that have

4.5 cubic feet of capacity can handle the laundering of a king-size comforter.

GE Appliances’ Allison Martin pegged large-capacity washing machines as those that are “closer to five cubic feet.”

Discounted opportunities

Martin is GE Appliances’ senior director of corporate citizenship. She oversees the manufacturer’s donation of washing machines and dryers to firehouses, which started in March 2020. The program, which is called GEA4Heroes, has facilitated the donation of appliances to two dozen firehouses thus far as well as to some individual first responders.

“When we donate [laundry appliances], each firehouse has different requirements,” Martin says.

Donations to FDNY fire stations took into account space limitations, which meant stackable models.

GE Appliances also has a discount program for firehouses, as do other appliance manufacturers and large retailers.

Eloise Hale of Electrolux says her company provides discounts for washing machines and dryers through the Electrolux Friends and Family Store ([email protected]).

Samsung’s website offers a discount of as much as 30 percent on select models of washers and dryers for firefighters and paramedics. Included among the models for which a discount can be applied are washing machines and dryers that have a steam mode, which is a function that might be of particular interest to fire departments. (See “Key Features for Firehouse Laundry Appliances.”)