First responders are a close-knit community, and most everyone knows the name, Joseph E. Finn. During a life-long career with the Boston Fire Department spanning close to four decades, Finn worked his way through the ranks to Fire Commissioner/Chief of Department, earning the moniker of Boston’s top firefighter.
He is credited with making numerous enhancements to the fire safety and EMS fields, and has received many prestigious honors, including Fire Chief of the Year. But, Finn is most known for introducing wellness programs to reduce epidemic level cancer rates among firefighters.
Minimize carcinogen exposure
Although recently retired from his position as Boston Fire Commissioner, Finn continues to advocate for ways to minimize carcinogen exposure for fire service personnel. Along similar lines, Finn also spearheaded a movement toward creating healthier firehouse environments. Driven by a passion to protect fellow firefighters and EMTs from viral pathogens, Finn has now assumed the role of First Responder Safety Advisor to EvaClean Infection Prevention Solutions.
Finn said, “The more I learned about EvaClean, the more benefits I could see from using the best technologies and safer disinfectants to mitigate pathogens in firehouse settings. The biggest benefit is protecting firefighters and EMTs from illness and disease, as well as reducing the loss of critical man-hours when emergency personnel get sick.”
Protection against viruses
Most firefighters spend 48 hours a week living and working in firehouses, treating them much like second homes
Most firefighters spend 48 hours a week living and working in firehouses, treating them much like second homes. In such close quarters, any illness has the potential to impact everyone in the station, as well as EMTs in the field. Inevitably, when COVID-19 arrived on the scene, it impacted firehouses all across the country.
“The advent of COVID magnified how important cleaning and disinfection is,” said Finn. “We need to ensure our firefighters are protected against viruses and bacteria before firehouses become incubators for contagious diseases.”
Public safety leadership
In an advisory capacity, Finn will help guide EvaClean’s first responder safety initiatives. He will also facilitate relationships with firefighter and EMS organizations, consult on outreach programs, support conference exhibitions, and liaison with public safety leadership.
Dan Clifford, EvaClean CMO said, “Our solution was designed specifically to address the kind of harmful pathogens found in most firehouse environments. Under Joe’s stewardship, our efforts to protect the health and safety of first responders will be infinitely more successful.”