The very tools I am using can cause health problems. They can kill you.
For decades, the foam that firefighters trusted to extinguish flames carried within it a slow and invisible danger — PFAS chemicals that accumulate in the body and have been linked to elevated cancer rates among those who served. New Jersey, having collected more than 150,000 gallons of the now-condemned aqueous film-forming foam, is working to destroy what it once distributed, sending stockpiles to Ohio for a process that reduces forever chemicals to clean water. The effort is a reckoning with a long deferred cost of protection — the recognition that the tools meant to preserve life may have quietly diminished it.
- Fire departments across New Jersey sat unknowingly on stockpiles of PFAS-laden foam for decades, and one chief described the feeling of holding it as 'sitting on a bomb.'
- A veteran firefighter's 2024 colon cancer diagnosis put a human face on the data — his son, also a fire chief, has since tested with PFAS blood levels above the national average.
- New Jersey has mobilized a statewide collection effort, gathering over 150,000 gallons of AFFF and routing it to a specialized Ohio facility where supercritical water reactors break the chemicals down into clean water.
- The foam was only part of the exposure — PFAS was also woven into the protective gear firefighters wore to every call, compounding decades of contact with no warning.
- Departments are now transitioning to soybean-based, PFAS-free foam alternatives, though larger quantities are needed to match the suppression power of the old formula.
- The central question has shifted from whether to abandon AFFF to whether the cleanup and transition will arrive in time to spare the next generation of firefighters the same hidden toll.
In a Burlington County fire station, Chief Robert Gancarz found himself staring at hundreds of gallons of aqueous film-forming foam — AFFF — that his department had relied on since the 1980s. What had once been standard equipment had become something urgent to remove. "It was like sitting on a bomb," he told CBS News. He emptied 580 gallons, knowing that the very tool his department had trusted to save lives was now understood to threaten them.
AFFF contains PFAS — so-called "forever chemicals" that neither the environment nor the human body can break down. Research has tied exposure to elevated cancer rates among firefighters. For Gancarz, the stakes were not abstract. His father, "Boots," spent a lifetime in the fire service, wearing gear saturated with PFAS. In 2024, at 76, Boots was diagnosed with colon cancer. His response was defiant: "They ain't shoveling dirt in my face yet." Robert, who has since had his own blood tested, learned his PFAS levels exceed the national average. "It's definitely a scary, scary thing to think about," he said.
New Jersey is among more than a dozen states now systematically collecting and destroying AFFF stockpiles. The state has gathered over 150,000 gallons, all of it bound for Revive Environmental in Ohio, where supercritical water reactors reduce the chemicals to clean water. The foam, however, was never the only source of exposure — PFAS was also embedded in the protective gear firefighters wore to every call, compounding the risk across entire careers.
Fire departments are now switching to soybean-based alternatives, free of PFAS, though slightly larger volumes are needed to match the old foam's effectiveness. As the disposal effort continues, the fire service faces a quieter, longer question: whether the shift away from these chemicals will come soon enough to protect those who come next.
In a fire station in Burlington County, New Jersey, Robert Gancarz faced a problem that had been sitting in his department's storage for decades. Hundreds of gallons of aqueous film-forming foam—AFFF, the standard firefighting tool since the mid-1980s—had become something he needed to get rid of as quickly as possible. "It was like sitting on a bomb," he told CBS News. "How am I going to get rid of this?" Jacobstown Volunteer Fire Chief Gancarz emptied 580 gallons of the stuff, aware that the very equipment he had relied on to save lives carried a darker cost.
AFFF contains PFAS, chemicals that don't break down in the environment or the human body—hence the nickname "forever chemicals." Research has linked exposure to these compounds with elevated cancer rates among firefighters. For Gancarz, the realization came with a particular weight: "The very tools I am using can cause health problems. They can kill you." He was not speaking in abstraction. His father, "Boots" Gancarz, had spent a lifetime fighting fires, wearing gear saturated with PFAS. In 2024, at 76 years old, Boots was diagnosed with colon cancer. "I'm going to beat this," he said, his resolve evident. "They ain't shoveling dirt in my face yet."
New Jersey is one of more than a dozen states now engaged in a systematic effort to collect, remove, and destroy AFFF stockpiles. The state has gathered more than 150,000 gallons from fire departments across the state. All of it is being transported to Revive Environmental, an Ohio-based company specializing in PFAS destruction. The process is straightforward in principle: the foam is fed through supercritical water reactors that break down the chemicals, leaving clean water as the end product. "What comes out of those reactors is clean water," explained Rick Gillespie, the company's CEO.
But the cleanup effort, significant as it is, addresses only part of the exposure problem. For decades, firefighters' protective gear itself was laced with PFAS. Boots Gancarz remembered it clearly: "It was in the gear and everything. I had that every time you put it on and went to a call." The chemicals were not just in the foam they sprayed; they were woven into the clothing meant to protect them. Robert Gancarz, who has been blood-tested since his department began the disposal process, discovered his own PFAS levels were higher than the average American's. The knowledge sits with him. "It's definitely a scary, scary thing to think about," he said when asked if he worried about his own cancer risk.
Fire departments are transitioning to alternatives. Robert Gancarz showed CBS News his department's new foam, made from soybeans and free of PFAS. It works, though it requires slightly larger quantities to achieve the same fire suppression. The trade-off is worth it. As New Jersey and other states work through their stockpiles, the question facing the fire service is no longer whether to use AFFF—that chapter is closing. The question now is whether the shift away from these chemicals, and the destruction of existing supplies, will be enough to protect the next generation of firefighters from the same invisible occupational hazard that has already marked so many of their predecessors.
Notable Quotes
It was like sitting on a bomb. How am I going to get rid of this?— Robert Gancarz, Jacobstown Volunteer Fire Chief
I'm going to beat this. They ain't shoveling dirt in my face yet.— Boots Gancarz, retired firefighter diagnosed with colon cancer
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did it take so long for fire departments to stop using this foam if the risks were known?
The foam was incredibly effective at suppressing certain fires, especially fuel fires at airports and military bases. It became standard because it worked. The cancer link in firefighters emerged gradually through research over years, and there was no clear alternative until recently.
So Boots Gancarz's cancer—is that definitively connected to the PFAS exposure?
The research shows a statistical link between PFAS exposure and higher cancer rates in firefighters as a group. In his case, he spent decades in gear and around foam containing these chemicals. You can't point to one exposure and say that caused this specific cancer, but the pattern is there.
What does it mean that Robert's blood levels are elevated?
It means the chemicals accumulated in his body over time. He's been exposed through the foam, through his gear, possibly through contaminated water supplies. The fact that his levels are higher than average suggests ongoing or past significant exposure.
Is the soybean foam a real solution, or just a stopgap?
It's a real alternative—it doesn't contain PFAS and it works. The catch is you need more of it to do the same job, which costs more and takes up more storage space. But it's not a compromise on safety; it's a genuine shift away from the forever chemicals.
What happens to the firefighters who were already exposed?
That's the harder question. Destroying the foam going forward protects future firefighters. For those already exposed, like Boots and Robert, it's monitoring, early screening, and hoping the medical community develops better detection and treatment as they learn more about PFAS health effects.