When every minute of exposure counts
DECON-TRACK turns the invisible into something measurable, traceable, and actionable.
Founder & Executive Director
Derek Doyle
Full-time firefighter · 26 years on the job
DECON-TRACK was founded by Derek Doyle, a veteran firefighter with 26 years of service with the Gatineau Fire Department. Beginning his career on the front lines, Derek advanced to Chief of Procurement in 2024 before being appointed Chief of Operations in 2026.
His focus on contaminant management and first responder health is both professional and personal. Following a recent occupational skin cancer diagnosis and multiple surgeries, the reality hit home. It forced a critical question: how can we protect firefighters from exposure we aren't actively tracking?
Our Mission
Enhance Safety & Compliance
Streamline firefighter decontamination protocols to ensure full compliance with occupational safety standards.
Advance Exposure Data
Expand the accuracy and accessibility of real-time exposure tracking for first responders.
Drive Research & Prevention
Empower medical researchers with accurate, long-term health and exposure data to accelerate advancements in treating and preventing occupational cancers and respiratory illness.
An invisible threat with real consequences
Research confirms what firefighters experience on the line every day: cancer is an occupational hazard. Across North America and Europe, governments increasingly recognize dozens of cancer types as directly linked to firefighting exposure. Yet, tracking that exposure has remained largely unmeasured.
Occupational cancers recognized among firefighters, depending on province.
Recognized occupational cancers among firefighters.
The gap on the fireground
During structure fires and high-risk calls, firefighters are exposed to toxic substances whose effects are often cumulative and silent.
Exposure time is hard to track with precision. Relief and withdrawal decisions are often made too late. Exposure history is incomplete, or does not exist at all. Long-term firefighter health is left at risk.
We recognize cancer as an occupational disease. Yet departments still lack traceable data on actual career-long exposure, and on how long members were exposed before decontamination was complete.
What DECON-TRACK makes possible
Practical tools for firefighter health and safety, with documentation suitable for insurers, workers' compensation, and municipal leadership.
Precise individual exposure tracking
Continuous per-member exposure time with server-backed records, not reconstructed from memory after the call.
Stronger decontamination protocols
Guidance when special substances are present, to support preventive decontamination steps on scene.
Real-time operational decisions
Command staff can see when to withdraw a member, reduce repeated overexposure, and act before thresholds are crossed.
Complete exposure history
Per firefighter, per incident, and per site. A record departments can use for reports, insurance, and medical follow-up.
Municipal decision support
City-wide visibility into exposure patterns, reassignment when thresholds are reached, and support for occupational health decisions.
Adaptable to local protocols
Each municipality can align settings to its own operational and industrial protocols.
The mission
Built for firefighters, by a firefighter.
We cannot eliminate every danger in this profession. But we can measure it, understand it, and reduce it.
DECON-TRACK started as Derek Doyle's vision from the fireground. Operators in the field shaped it, and municipal partners and the engineering team built the platform with him.