Located in Great Falls, Montana, the installation began as Great Falls Army Air Base, initially training B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crews and serving as a key stop along the Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease route before being renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base in 1956 to honor Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom. Today it's home to the 341st Missile Wing, one of only three Air Force units operating and securing the Minuteman III ICBM system, along with the 40th and 550th Helicopter Squadrons and the 819th RED HORSE Squadron. Much of that mission relies on aircraft hangars, missile support facilities, boiler plants, and steam and utility systems built largely between the 1940s and 1960s.
AFFF exposure at Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base historically maintained a dedicated Fire Training Area, designated FT01, where firefighters trained for aircraft and fuel-fire emergencies. Official Air Force environmental investigations confirm FT01 operated for approximately 30 years with a documented history of firefighting activities, including the use of AFFF, before it was remediated in 1997. Rather than ending firefighter training, the Air Force replaced it in the early 1990s with a new, lined training pit and retention system built to continue the same mission.
Three decades of activity at FT01 meant firefighters cycled through the same routine repeatedly:
- crash rescue exercises simulated real aircraft emergencies
- crews suppressed live aviation fuel fires as part of certification requirements
- foam concentrate was mixed and applied during training burns
- proportioning systems were tested to confirm the correct foam-to-water ratio
- vehicles and equipment were cleaned after each exercise
- foam storage systems were maintained between training cycles
Air Force Fire Protection Specialists and Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting personnel carried the bulk of this exposure, joined by fire instructors, firefighter trainees, fire apparatus operators, and the staff who maintained foam systems and firefighting vehicles.
Three decades of live-fire training at FT01 and its successor facility put firefighters in the exact population researchers have studied for AFFF-related cancer risk. The chemicals in that foam are tied to:
If your time as a firefighter at Malmstrom Air Force Base overlapped with either training site and you've since received one of these diagnoses, our team can review your history and let you know whether you're eligible to file an AFFF claim.
Asbestos exposure at Malmstrom Air Force Base
Construction and expansion at Malmstrom Air Force Base relied heavily on asbestos, valued at the time for its insulation and fire resistance in military facilities. That legacy runs through a range of materials still tied to the installation:
Certain trades faced more exposure than others while maintaining Malmstrom Air Force Base's older support facilities, steam systems, and mechanical equipment across the installation:
Asbestos-related disease works on its own timeline, one that has little to do with how healthy someone feels in the years right after exposure. Mesothelioma and lung cancer, the two conditions most closely tied to this kind of work, can take 20 to 50 years to develop, so a veteran who fixed steam lines or handled insulation at Malmstrom Air Force Base decades ago might only be facing a diagnosis now, with no obvious reason to connect it back to their service. If that's your situation, our team can review your service record and let you know if you qualify to file an asbestos claim.