"This legislation is long overdue. We know our volunteer firefighters are being exposed to more and more chemicals when they enter burning buildings due to changes in building materials and furniture. We have a moral obligation to offer protections to the brave men and women who risk their lives to answer the fire calls, as well to ensure their families are protected when they respond to a fire scene," Assemblywoman Jenne said.
"The vast majority of our communities in the North Country simply don’t have the financial resources necessary to respond to emergencies without the selfless service of our volunteers. This legislation is another no-brainer, offering increased protections to our volunteers, and I'm proud to stand with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it," she added.
A series of studies conducted over the last several years found that firefighters have an increased rate of cancer. When a firefighter responds to an interior fire, there are often carcinogens
burning in that fire. These carcinogens come from the burning of everyday products.
Assemblywoman Jenne said the legislation was necessary because there are currently no adequate protections to compensate volunteer firefighters for a risk that studies have shown exist solely because of their willingness to volunteer as interior firefighters in an effort to save lives and property in their communities.
The gap coverage disability benefit will help volunteer firefighters offset some of the expenses that are linked to battling serious forms of cancer, she noted.
'We have to do better for our volunteer firefighters. We can not and should not force our volunteers to incur large out-of-pocket expenses when they are being treated for cancers that can be tied to their service," Assemblywoman Jenne said.
The benefit is limited to volunteers who have served for at least five years as an interior fire-fighter and have been diagnosed with an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in any part of the body or a malignant growth or tumor affecting the lymphatic or hematological, digestive, urinary, prostate, neurological, breast or reproductive systems or melanoma.
The volunteer would be eligible for a lump sum payment between $6,250 and $25,000, depending on severity. This amount may be drawn from a pool of $50,000, which is available if there is more than one cancer diagnosis over the volunteer firefighters' lifetime.
The bill would also provide a volunteer firefighter that is totally disabled a monthly benefit of
$1,500 payable for up to 36 consecutive months. A volunteer firefighter's family would be eligible for an accidental death benefit in the amount of $50,000.
The legislation also passed the state Senate this week and now moves to the governor's desk for his approval.
"I see and hear about the great work our volunteer firefighters do on a regular basis, and I have been pleased to be able to support several pieces of legislation over the past few years that offer necessary protections to these brave men and women," Assemblywoman Jenne said.