Were you a Suffolk County firefighter or East Northport volunteer? AFFF exposure at Yaphank Firematics facility

Many of those same firefighters went on to serve in local departments like East Northport, where AFFF continued to be used during training and emergency response. What they were never told was that the foam contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, chemicals that accumulate in the body over time and have been linked to kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and other serious diagnoses. Long Island firefighter cancer diagnoses tied to foam exposure are now the subject of legal claims across the country. If you trained at Yaphank and have since been diagnosed with cancer, ELG Law can review your records and tell you where you stand.

What was the Suffolk County Firematics Training Facility?

The Yaphank facility was not a single-use training site. It served as the primary certification and continuing education center for Suffolk County's volunteer firefighter system, drawing personnel from dozens of departments across Long Island for initial training, recertification, and advanced coursework. Sometimes referred to as the Suffolk County Fire Academy, the facility trained generations of volunteer and career firefighters in foam suppression techniques that involved direct, repeated contact with AFFF. East Northport firefighters, like volunteers from departments throughout the county, completed required training rotations at Yaphank over the course of their service careers.

The facility hosted live-fire exercises, foam system training, and volunteer firefighter education programs that covered a range of suppression techniques. Trainees worked directly with foam during exercises, operating nozzles, managing eductor systems, and applying foam over burn props while standing in and around the discharge area. That hands-on exposure was not a one-time event for most participants. It repeated across initial certification, refresher courses, and advanced training throughout a firefighter's career.

Why AFFF was commonly used in firefighter training

AFFF was built into firefighter training curricula across the country because of how effectively it suppresses fuel fires. At facilities like Yaphank, foam exercises covered a range of scenarios, including:

• Class B fuel-fire training involving gasoline and petroleum products
• Airport firefighting techniques and foam application methods
• Foam system testing and equipment operation
• Live-fire training scenarios requiring direct foam deployment
• Advanced courses covering large-scale fire suppression

Yaphank firefighter foam exposure began as early as 1959 and continued for decades. Because many Long Island firefighters spent 10, 20, or 30 years serving the same district and returning to Yaphank for recertification, their exposure was not limited to a single session. It accumulated over careers, and for those who also served in active departments where AFFF was used during emergency response, the occupational exposure extended well beyond the training ground.

Environmental investigations at Yaphank

State investigators identified the Yaphank Firematics Facility as a source of PFOS and PFOA contamination in the surrounding groundwater, prompting formal PFAS investigations and remediation efforts focused on the site. Suffolk County Fire Academy PFAS concerns became a matter of public record when, in 2017, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation designated the facility a Class 2 Superfund site, a classification reserved for locations that pose a significant threat to public health or the environment and require active remediation. Yaphank firefighting foam contamination records and soil and groundwater testing revealed several significant findings:

• PFAS chemicals from firefighting foam drills leached into the soil and migrated into nearby private wells
• In some Suffolk County districts, PFAS levels in water reached as high as 146 parts per trillion, far exceeding New York State's standard of 10 parts per trillion
• Affected residents were connected to public drinking water systems while the county was required to expand sampling and develop a formal remedial plan
• More than 120 residents filed a lawsuit against Suffolk County and manufacturers of aqueous firefighting foam, alleging that PFOS and PFOA exposure from the training facility increased their risk of serious illness

Long Island's unique exposure history

Suffolk County firefighter AFFF exposure created a compounding health risk that sets Long Island firefighters apart from those in many other parts of the country. Some experienced multiple PFAS exposure pathways over their careers, layered on top of one another in ways that make their cumulative history particularly significant.

On the occupational side, volunteer firefighter AFFF exposure occurred both at the Yaphank facility and within local departments like East Northport, where firefighter training foam exposure continued during active service. East Northport firefighter PFAS contact, like that of volunteers across the county, built up over years of foam deployment during drills and emergency responses. A firefighter who completed initial certification at Yaphank, returned for advanced courses years later, and deployed foam during emergency responses in their home district accumulated a long and documented history of firefighter foam training cancer risk across their entire career.

Beyond occupational exposure, Long Island also has some of the highest recorded PFAS contamination levels in the United States, meaning many firefighters who lived and worked in the same Suffolk County community for decades faced firefighter PFAS contamination not only through their jobs but also through their drinking water and surrounding environment. In some districts, contamination levels reached 146 parts per trillion, nearly fifteen times the state standard. Because New York State has already documented the toxic exposure history at Yaphank through formal PFAS investigations and Superfund designation, firefighters who trained there have a factual record that supports their claims.

Get expert legal help with your Yaphank Firematics AFFF claim

ELG Law has spent over three decades representing people who developed cancer following toxic chemical exposure. If you served in Suffolk County, trained at Yaphank, and have been diagnosed with an eligible cancer, your years of service and the state's own contamination records may work in your favor.

Your employment history, training logs, and medical records are the starting point. The sooner those documents are reviewed, the clearer your options become. Contact ELG Law to have an attorney review your records and tell you whether your diagnosis and training history support a claim.