OCALA, Fla. (AP) - Six former employees of the Florida State Fire College have sued manufacturers of firefighting suppressants used at the training facility, saying they caused cancer or other diseases.
The Ocala Star-Banner reports the lawsuit filed in federal court alleges the manufacturers were negligent and purposefully hid studies showing chemicals in the suppressants were carcinogenic and dangerous to the environment.
The plaintiffs include a firefighter instructor and administrative employees who may have been exposed to hazardous chemicals through contaminated groundwater around the Ocala facility. The lawsuit says they suffered from thyroid disease, kidney disease, breast cancer and parathyroid cancer.
According to the lawsuit, hundreds of firefighters, instructors and administrative employees could have been exposed to contaminants through the college’s pipes, faucets, showerheads, appliances, sinks and drinking water fountains.
The lawsuit seeks damages totaling more than $5 million.
