Firefighting is a dangerous profession, but decades of training and rigorous safety protocols have made it relatively safe. Despite this strong focus on safety, firefighting results in hundreds of fatalities a year throughout North America. Between 2001 and 2021, more than 1,500 firefighter fatalities were recorded in Canada, but the majority did not occur in the line of duty. It was cancer-related causes that accounted for 84.6% of these fatalities.
According to the Government of Canada’s National Framework on Cancers Linked to Firefighting, firefighters have a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general population. One of the factors in these higher rates may be the very thing firefighters depend on to protect themselves: their protective gear.
The moisture barrier materials used today in firefighting gear are high in perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Known as “forever chemicals”, PFASs have been associated with an increased risk of several types of cancer. Both the Federal and Provincial governments have dedicated funding to protect firefighters from these chemicals, including $30 million in grants over three years from the Province of Ontario.
Inspired by stories from a family member about firefighting colleagues who had died from cancer, Drew Davidson and Kade Truman founded ArcticEdge Technologies to protect those who protect us. The solution? A breathable, waterproof moisture barrier that is PFAS-free.
More than chance encounter
The high fatalities and use of PFAS were shocking news to Truman when he first heard about them in the summer of 2023. At the time, he was a Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology student at the University of Waterloo and looking for an opportunity to combine his interests in science and business. An event at the University’s Velocity Incubator was the perfect opportunity to see what people were building and where he could potentially put his experience to work.
“I overheard someone talking about how their mom is a firefighter and wanted to put their background in chemical engineering into an idea to address the problem of firefighters getting cancer from their gear. He had no business expertise, and he was looking for someone to close that gap,” Truman said.
Davidson’s background is in nanotechnology at the University of Waterloo, where he was part of the program’s first cohort. He went on to complete a Master’s in chemical engineering and worked as a researcher before launching ArcticEdge. The idea for what would become the startup’s solution came from his mother, a retired firefighter.
“She came home from a colleague’s funeral, told him that their gear was killing them, and asked if there was anything he could do. He said, ‘That’s what I’ve spent my whole career studying. Of course I can do something about it,’” Truman said.
Once he heard the story, Truman was in. Together they developed the business case and presented it to the University as part of an application for a research program.
“We talked to firefighters, fire-testing labs, and thought leaders. We looked at the other solutions on the market and why they weren’t being adopted. Then we brought that to the university and said there is a solution here and we want to commercialize it, but we need the resources,” Truman said.
The University agreed.
“They ended up creating a new scholarship just for Drew, called the Deep Tech Commercialization Scholarship. It’s a PhD where the focus is building the business, which had never been done before. Coming from Waterloo, which is well known for entrepreneurship, that’s a pretty big deal,” he said.
Accelerating commercialization at the AC
ArcticEdge’s story is a Waterloo tech ecosystem story. Velocity was the spark of their partnership. The University of Waterloo created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to commercialize the research. And the Accelerator Centre has helped them build their go-to-market strategy.
“The Accelerator Centre is kind of legendary. If you’re in the ecosystem, they’ve been around a long time, supported a lot of businesses, and they’re right next to campus,” Truman said.
The founders applied and were accepted into the second cohort of the AC:Studio program.
“It’s been a real treat ever since. I didn’t realize how good it was until I compared it to some of the other programs we’ve been through. It’s been phenomenal,” he added.
Even with Davidson’s research background and Truman’s entrepreneurial experience, taking a startup from idea to market means having access to mentors who have been there and lived to tell the tale.
“Mentorship is what really mattered to us. Science makes things complicated. We have to manage IP on the filing side, and also figure out how to talk to a potential partner or customer about technology that isn’t fully developed or fully protected yet. There’s a balance there, so finding mentors who understand that space and will sit down with you for an hour and give you real direction based on what they’ve seen has been huge,” Truman said.
It’s not just one type of mentor either. Truman said the diversity of experiences makes the Accelerator Centre’s mentors stand out.
“The AC has mentors who are experts in every field—sales, finance, negotiating partnership agreements with much bigger organizations. There are people who’ve actually done those things and can give us solid, practical guidance,” he said.
Truman pointed to a session with mentor Kevin Hood.
“We told him where we were at and what we wanted out of an upcoming meeting. He helped us figure out how to maximize our position, we followed his advice, and it worked out extremely well. We got everything we needed, and now we’re running a pilot with a formal partnership agreement in place. We’d be light years behind without that kind of tailored advice,” Truman said.
Built to protect
ArcticEdge is deep in the research and development phase. Truman said the startup has material prototypes and already has a number of pilot projects lined up. While the momentum is building, he acknowledged that convincing manufacturers to adopt a new material—even one that can save lives—is easier said than done.
“It’s a tough balance in deep tech. You need a working solution, but that doesn’t always align with business milestones. If you stay in the lab perfecting something without validating it against real customers, you can end up too late. But you also can’t show up without a product. We’re finally at the stage where we can put something in front of people, learn from that, and keep pushing it forward together,” Truman said.
Rather than trying to disrupt the existing market, Truman said the startup is working to build itself into the value chain for existing manufacturers. Their pilot project includes a complete set of personal protective equipment (PPE) that can be tested in real-world conditions. The pilot partnership is also helping Truman shape ArcticEdge’s business plan as the company moves forward.
“It gives us a roadmap for the next couple of years. How many yards we need to produce, what quality standards they need to see, and all the other things that are less exciting than the technology but absolutely crucial to the business. It really is a balance of technology and business,” he said.
ArcticEdge’s product has achieved external certification and they plan on being market-ready within the year. Truman said the support from the Accelerator Centre and Waterloo tech ecosystem have been invaluable, but their number one supporter is still Davidson’s mother. She attends many of their in-person events and even helps spread the word by resharing their posts on LinkedIn.
“She was a firefighter her whole career who learned that the gear she wore the entire time is linked to cancer and responsible for the deaths of many of her peers. That’s a hard thing to sit with. Everyone in this space is thinking about the next generation. How to make sure firefighters can do their jobs and still be protected. For her—and for us—it’s personal,” he said.
