- April 24, 2024
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Ormond Beach Fire Capt. Travis Taft helps keep his fellow firefighters safe from unseen dangers.
According to research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, firefighters are 9% more likely to receive a cancer diagnoses in their lifetime, and are 14% more likely to die from the disease, as compared to the general population of the United States. For Taft, who has been with the department for 17 years, that statistic motivates him to keep the Ormond Beach Fire Department's personal protection program as modern and widely-available as possible.
“We have all these firefighters here that are risking their lives in the job, and it’s kind of shame that the thing that they’re wearing, that’s supposed to keep them safe, they’re retiring and they’re getting cancer [because of it]," Taft said.
Taft has been overseeing the department's ppe program for the past couple of years, and since then, OBFD has replaced its firefighting protective gear (also known as "bunker gear") to ones with newer technologies and materials, offering better thermal protection, breathability and carcinogen blocking. He's also aided in securing supplemental funding for the purchase of new particulate-blocking hoods that help minimize skin exposure to carcinogens, spearheaded research and the purchase of two new gear dryers to minimize post-fire cleaning time, as well as researched grants and initiated proposals for projects such as training simulators for emergency medical services skills, a bunker gear washer and extractor, and sets of "dual-compliance" gear that can be used for brush fires and other hazardous calls, which helps to reduce the wear and tear on their bunker gear.
It's a team effort, Taft said, but his work is rewarding.
“We don’t want the thing that’s supposed to keep us safe to harm us," he said. "We’re trying to take steps to alleviate that.”
Taft began his career with OBFD at 18 years old. In fact, he graduated from Taylor Middle-High School a half-year earlier just so he could enter fire school earlier.
After all, fire service ran in his blood. His father was the chief of the Daytona Beach Fire Department, where his cousin works and uncle retired from. Taft, a
"With research showing an increased risk of cancer for firefighters, Capt. Taft has worked to help our department take advantage of newly available technologies, to minimize the effects of the hazards we’re exposed to on the job. In addition, he consistently takes the initiative on new projects to improve our equipment and training, including looking for innovative ways to supplement our current funding, while remaining fiscally responsible."
Nate Quartier, Ormond Beach Fire battalion chief
father himself today, knew he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.
“But I wanted to step out and make my own legacy at a different department, and do some of those great things and take some of those great teachings that he provided me and utilize them here to expand upon and make this organization great, like he did Daytona," Taft said.
Being a firefighter means every day is unique. There's never a dull moment, Taft said. It has challenges, but for the most part, the job is exciting — you never know what call you're going to respond to.
“You name it, if they don’t know who to send, we’re going to it," Taft said. "We get any type of call that you can imagine.”
When a task is placed before him, Taft said he likes to make sure the task is done to the best of his ability. He's not one to wait around for others to fix problems when he sees what needs to be done.
"It’s been very rewarding for me to put my mind to something, set a goal and then start accomplishing that goal," Taft said. "It gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment.”
There's never been one call in particular that showed him why he loved fire service, but he remembers that very early on in his career, he felt that sense of doing good. The comradery with the crew is also a bonus of the job — essentially, they are all a family.
“I always felt proud telling people what I did for a living, and I always liked being proud of telling people what I did for a living," Taft said.
