Located in Frederick, Maryland, the post began in 1931 as Detrick Field, an Army airfield named for Major Frederick L. Detrick. It became Camp Detrick during World War II, serving as the center of the Army's biological research program, before being redesignated Fort Detrick in 1956 and shifting its mission toward biodefense, infectious disease research, and public health in 1969. Today it's home to the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, USAMRIID, and numerous other federal agencies, supporting a workforce of more than 12,000 military personnel, civilians, and contractors across research laboratories, utility plants, maintenance shops, and support buildings largely constructed between the 1940s and 1970s.
Fort Detrick isn't a tactical aviation base, but its Fire & Emergency Services department still had to maintain full crash fire and rescue capability alongside structural firefighting, hazardous materials response, and emergency medical services, which meant firefighters trained with the same specialized equipment used at any base with fuel storage and aircraft support facilities to protect.
That training included fuel fire response exercises, fire suppression drills, foam application training, fire apparatus testing, and recurring certification exercises, with exposure occurring through the routine parts of the job:
- mixing foam concentrate before drills
- operating foam hoses during fuel fire suppression exercises
- testing foam proportioning systems
- cleaning firefighting vehicles and protective equipment after each exercise
- maintaining foam storage tanks and delivery systems
Army Fire Protection Specialists and Fort Detrick Fire & Emergency Services personnel were most exposed, joined by fire instructors, firefighter trainees, civilian firefighters assigned to the installation, and the staff responsible for maintaining firefighting vehicles and foam systems.
Kidney cancer and testicular cancer have all been linked to PFAS chemicals found in AFFF among firefighters with this kind of sustained occupational exposure. If you trained or served with Fort Detrick's fire department and were later diagnosed with one of these cancers, our team can help you find out whether you're eligible to file an AFFF claim.
Because Fort Detrick's infrastructure dates back to the World War II era, asbestos-containing materials were widely built into many of its research buildings and mechanical systems. Materials commonly used throughout its laboratories, warehouses, and utility plants included:
The trades most likely to have disturbed these materials while maintaining Fort Detrick's research and support facilities include:
Fort Detrick has operated continuously since the early 1930s, with significant expansion during World War II and the Cold War, and many of its research buildings, utility systems, and support facilities were constructed when these materials were standard throughout military installations. A diagnosis of mesothelioma or lung cancer, the two conditions most strongly tied to asbestos exposure, often doesn't surface until 20 to 50 years after the original exposure occurred, meaning someone who did maintenance work at Fort Detrick decades ago may only now be learning of the connection. If your service included that kind of work at Fort Detrick and you've since received one of these diagnoses, contact our team to find out whether you're eligible to file a claim.