The fire department in Friesland is phasing out the use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, a group of chemicals harmful to human health and the environment. Currently, about half of the province's seventy fire trucks use PFAS-containing foam, though higher concentrations were previously removed. This transition back to water as the primary extinguishing agent aims to prevent these harmful substances from entering the environment and groundwater. While water is effective in most fire scenarios, an emergency supply of low-PFAS foam will be retained for specific situations like liquid fires, such as burning oil or grease, where water could exacerbate the blaze. This move is lauded by environmental experts who highlight the carcinogenic and immune-system-damaging effects of PFAS.