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Vetted Cases

AFFF exposure check

An AFFF exposure check is the record you build before anyone reviews it: where you worked around firefighting foam, which years, what you did there, what a doctor later found, and which records can prove each part. This free tool walks you through those facts, returns a checklist of the records to gather and the office that usually has each one, and then sends the whole record to a licensed attorney to read. It does not say whether you have a claim. That is what the review is for.

A free tool. Not legal advice. Starting a case check does not mean we represent you.

What you walk away with

  • A checklist built from your own history
  • The office that usually has each record
  • A licensed attorney reads it when you send it

Nothing is sent until you press send at the end. Print what you want to keep.

Step 1 of 4. Where you were around the foam

Nothing is sent until you press send at the end.

Where you were around the foam

Pick every place that fits. You can choose more than one if your work or training took you through different settings.

Not sure whether a place counts? Pick it anyway. This list only decides which records get suggested to you.

You can move on without picking any of these.

Call or text (435) 383-8833. Starting a case check does not mean we represent you.

New to all of this? The reading room page explains what the court record shows today.

Read the AFFF learning page (opens in a new tab)

Records that matter, and who usually has them

With the interactive version you answer a few questions, get the shorter list that fits your own history, mark what you already have, and send the record to an attorney. Here is the whole list either way. None of it is required to start.

Proof of where you were, and when

  • A written timeline of the years, the places, and the jobsUsually held by: Nobody but you
  • A record of the years you were on the payrollUsually held by: Your Social Security earnings statement, or a wage transcript from the IRS
  • Discharge paperwork, usually the [DD-214]Usually held by: The National Personnel Records Center, part of the National Archives
  • Orders and base assignments, with the dates on themUsually held by: Your service branch personnel record
  • A fire department personnel file, with stations and yearsUsually held by: The department's records officer, or city or county human resources
  • Academy training records, certificates, and live burn logsUsually held by: The academy, or your state fire marshal's training division
  • Crash rescue training and certification recordsUsually held by: The airport authority that runs the fire station
  • An employment file with job titles, units, and datesUsually held by: The employer's human resources or plant safety office
  • Something that shows the years you lived thereUsually held by: Base housing records, a lease, a deed, tax bills, or old school records

Proof of what you did there

  • A plain description of what you did around the foamUsually held by: Nobody but you
  • The name of a foam product, if any name can still be foundUsually held by: Purchase orders, safety data sheets, a drum label, or an old photo
  • Live burn or drill logs with your name on themUsually held by: The academy or the training officer at the department
  • Apparatus, tank, and gear cleaning or testing logsUsually held by: The department or plant maintenance office
  • Safety data sheets or chemical inventories for the siteUsually held by: The employer's safety office

What a doctor found, in writing

  • A list of every place you have been treated, and roughly whenUsually held by: Nobody but you
  • The records from wherever you were treatedUsually held by: The hospital or clinic medical records office, sometimes called health information management
  • The pathology, biopsy, or imaging report behind a diagnosisUsually held by: The hospital that did the procedure
  • The note that shows the date you were toldUsually held by: The chart from the doctor who told you
  • Any VA claim file or VA treatment recordsUsually held by: The VA

The site itself

  • The full name of each base, station, airport, or plantUsually held by: Nobody but you
  • Any public notice about these chemicals at that siteUsually held by: The state environmental agency, or the base or airport's own public records
  • The yearly water quality report for the address you lived atUsually held by: The water utility that served that address

How the exposure check works

Five steps about a working life. You can go back and change any answer, and the checklist rebuilds itself every time you do.

Say where you were around the foam

A military base or airfield, a fire department, a training academy, an airport crash crew, an industrial site, or a home on or near one of those places. Pick as many as fit.

Say what you did there

Fighting fires, crash rescue, training with foam, cleaning gear and trucks, working on the site in another job, or living there. The job decides which paperwork exists.

Add the years and the places

Rough years are fine. The names of the base, the station, the airport, or the plant matter more than exact dates do.

Say what a doctor found

What it was called, what year you were told, and where you were treated. This decides which medical records are worth asking for. You can skip all of it.

Get your checklist and send it in

Each record comes with the office that usually has it. Print it or copy it, then give us your name and the best number and a licensed attorney reads the whole record.

Who this is built for

People whose exposure came from a job, a service record, or an address, and who now need to prove where they were before anyone can look at the rest.

See what to have ready
  • Firefighters, career and volunteerStation years, academy burns, foam trailers, and washing gear after a call. Retired members are included, and so are the paid per call and volunteer sides of the service.
  • Military members and veteransFire school, flight line work, hangar foam systems, and crash crews at any airfield.
  • Airport and industrial crewsCrash rescue, refineries, chemical plants, shipyards, and plant fire brigades.
  • Families who lived on or beside a siteBase housing, or a home near a base, an airport, or a plant, including years spent there as a child.

Being on this list is not a statement that anyone qualifies for anything. It only describes who tends to find this tool useful.

What this tool will not do

  • It does not say whether you have a claimThat is what the attorney review is for.
  • It does not estimate what anything is worthNo honest calculator can. Amounts you see online come from other people's files.
  • It does not work out how much time you haveTime limits change by state, by court, and by what happened to you. Do not take a number off a website, including this one.
  • It does not say a product caused an illnessThat is decided with evidence, in a court, case by case. This page only helps you find the evidence about your own history.

Questions people ask about this tool

Does this tool tell me if I qualify for the AFFF lawsuit?
No, and it is built so that it cannot. It returns a list of records and who usually has them, and it sends the record you build to a licensed attorney if you ask it to. Whether an exposure history and a diagnosis add up to anything is decided by the attorney who reads your file.
When does what I type here reach you?
Only when you fill in your name and number on the last step and press send. Until then every answer stays in your browser, and nothing is put in the web address at any point. If you close the tab before you send, it is gone, so print or copy anything you want to keep.
How do I get my military service records?
Service records are held by the National Personnel Records Center, which is part of the National Archives, and a veteran can request their own at no cost. Your discharge paperwork often does not name the airfield you worked at, so ask for the orders and assignments too.
My old fire department closed. Are those records gone?
Not always. When a department closes or merges, its personnel files usually move to the city or county human resources office, and a union local often knows where they went. A Social Security earnings statement can also show the years you were on that payroll.
I do not have any records. Can I still start a case check?
Yes. Missing records never block a case check. Rough years and the name of a base or a station are enough to begin, and nobody asks a hospital or a base for your file until you sign a release that names the place and what is being asked for.

Starting a case check does not mean we represent you. This page is not legal advice. Depending on where you live and what happened, another law firm may need to assist or handle it. We will name that firm and ask your permission before sharing anything.

Call or text (435) 383-8833

When you want a person to look at it

The exposure check ends with your name and the best number, and a licensed attorney reads the record you built. The checklist is yours to keep either way.

Read where these cases stand
Start my case check

Call or text (435) 383-8833

Free to start. No obligation. Starting a case check does not mean we represent you.

Start my case check

Free to start. No obligation.

How would you like to start?

Pick whichever is easiest for you right now.

Free Go at your own pace No account needed

A licensed attorney reads every case check. Starting one does not mean we represent you. Representation begins only with a written agreement you choose to sign.