Senate Approves Legislation Giving Volunteer Firefighters Access To Critical Health Benefits

New York State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (2^nd Senate District) announced that the Senate has passed legislation to extend critical benefits to volunteer firefighters who risk their health and safety to protect others.  The bill (S3891) amends the Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law to provide heightened levels of protections for firefighters who contract certain cancer-related diseases while serving as volunteers.  

This bill would provide presumptive cancer coverage to the more than 100,000 volunteer firefighters in New York.  An increased number of firefighters are being diagnosed with cancer and recent medical studies have concluded that they are at a significantly higher risk than the general population for many types of cancer.  This is due to the high levels of carcinogens and other toxins found in burning buildings and the other hazardous environments that firefighters routinely work in.

According to the legislation, the expansion of coverage would include the following types of cancer: digestive, hematological, lymphatic, urinary, prostate, neurological, breast and reproductive.

The bill will be sent to the Assembly.

“These brave men and women are always there when we need them and we have an obligation to help them in their time of need.  This legislation will ensure that those who put their lives on the line are rightly protected from health threats that arise in the course of their service to our communities.  It is simply the right thing to do and I urge the Assembly to join us in this effort to provide them with our support,” stated Senator Flanagan.

This legislation is another sign of the commitment the New York State Senate has made to volunteer firefighters throughout New York State.  Recently, the Senate was also able to secure $250,000 as part of the enacted 2016-17 State Budget to support the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.  This funding will help increase the number of volunteer firefighters through promotional materials, public service announcements, and other tools that highlight the importance of promoting public safety and protecting local communities.