the nfpa and the firefighters union remain locked in a heated lawsuit about what the standards shoulded some of the largest manufacturers of firefighter gear to understand why pfas continues to be used. only viking responded, telling us there's been a lack of pfas-free fabrics approved by the nfpa, but says it's now testing alternative materials and plans to release a new line of gear by the end of the year, manufactured without pfas. at least two other companies, fire dex and lion, are already advertising pfas-free uniforms that are now being tested at fire departments across five cities, including san francisco, where firefighters say so far the gear is working. bryan ormond: we don't want to just trade one hazard for another. so, we'll burn the first one. bigad: chemist bryan ormond is trying to find out if those alternatives will be safer long term. at his lab at nc state university in raleigh, he and his team are testing fabrics for reliability. bryan: there's a little bit of char right here. bigad: so far, he says, his research has shown removing pfas can make uniforms less brea