Located in Jacksonville, Florida, NAS Cecil Field was commissioned in 1943 after construction began in 1941 to relieve overcrowding at NAS Jacksonville. Redesignated a Naval Air Station in 1952, it grew to more than 17,000 acres with bombing ranges and outlying landing fields, supporting aircraft maintenance, jet engine repair, logistics, and fleet readiness until its closure on September 30, 1999, under the Base Realignment and Closure program. That mission required aircraft hangars, jet engine overhaul facilities, machine shops, steam plants, and fire stations, much of it built between the 1940s and 1970s.
Historic Navy records from NAS Cecil Field describe something specific: aircraft mock-ups placed inside training pits, where flammable liquids were deliberately ignited so firefighters could practice putting them out. Navy environmental restoration documents identify this training area as active from roughly 1975 through 1988, and the Navy has since opened a dedicated PFAS operable unit tied to that historical AFFF use.
For the firefighters who trained there, the mock-up pits weren't a one-time drill:
- foam concentrate mixed and loaded before each exercise
- hoses charged against fires burning around the aircraft mock-ups
- gear and vehicles cleaned once training wrapped
- foam delivery systems and storage tanks kept in working order between sessions
- certification renewed on a recurring cycle for as long as someone served in fire protection
Navy firefighters and Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting personnel were most exposed, along with fire instructors running the mock-up exercises, trainees earning certification, civilian firefighters assigned to NAS Cecil Field, and the staff maintaining trucks 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 exposure. If you trained at the NAS Cecil Field mock-up pits or elsewhere on base and were later diagnosed with one of these cancers, that connection is worth having reviewed.
Like many Navy installations built during and after World War II, NAS Cecil Field relied heavily on asbestos for its heat resistance, durability, and insulating properties. Materials commonly used throughout its hangars, engine overhaul shops, and barracks included:
- pipe insulation
- boilers
- ceiling tiles
- wallboard
- gaskets
- floor tiles
- cement siding
- wiring insulation
- furnace cement
Given the base's aviation maintenance mission, occupational exposure was especially likely among:
- aviation ordnanceman
- electrician's mate
- utilitiesman
- watertender
- machinist's mate
- structural mechanic
- welders
- hull maintenance technician
NAS Cecil Field operated continuously from 1943 through 1999, and its hundreds of aviation, industrial, and maintenance buildings were constructed during decades when asbestos-containing materials were standard throughout military construction. Personnel responsible for maintaining hangars, steam systems, and aircraft support facilities faced the greatest opportunity for exposure across the base's long operational history. Mesothelioma and lung cancer remain the two illnesses most closely tied to that exposure, both known for taking 20 to 50 years to surface after fibers are first inhaled. If you performed maintenance work at Naval Air Station Cecil Field and have since been diagnosed with either condition, contact our team to find out whether you're eligible to file an asbestos claim.