Legislation and Funding
As part of the FireRescue1 Legislation & Funding topic, we highlight articles that will affect the bottom line of fire department budgets and operations.
With volunteer numbers declining and emergency calls rising, Franklin County is expanding paid EMS staffing and launching creative recruitment efforts to keep up with demand
With Inland Hospital closing, Waterville’s fire chief seeks funding to staff a third ambulance
Gov. Josh Shapiro released a three-part plan to help firefighters that included a $30M grant program for equipment and recruitment
Fire officials say the fees would hopefully deter facilities from relying too heavily on emergency services
The $1 million grant will enable the agency to increase from six to 12 full-time firefighter-medics and rely less on volunteers
Lawmakers have proposed a bill that will prevent the FCC from auctioning off the band of spectrum used by first responders across the country
Albuquerque Firefighter Laurianna Sargent discovered she is not covered under the state’s presumptive cause bill because she was diagnosed after age 40
Town leaders are considering having voters decide whether to increase the benefits to up to $1,200 per year
More than $2 billion will go toward helping federal, state and local government agencies prepare for and respond to the threat
Officials told concerned residents the town’s contracted EMS provider will still respond to the calls
The Iowa city’s eight remaining firefighters who aren’t cross-trained as public safety officers have been placed on administrative leave
An emergency declaration by President Donald Trump would allow disaster relief funds to be used to assist state and local responses
The two representatives plan to offer the bill as an alternative to the workers’ compensation bill already passed by the state House
Under the proposed act, federal grant funding for mental wellness support would no longer carry a funding match requirement
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has selected 205 applicants to test the program for five years
The city will become one of the first to try the program, which is designed to reduce Medicare costs by reimbursing non-hospital transports
A county commissioner with 44 years of firefighting experience testified in support of the proposal
The Wisconsin EMTs received rabies vaccines in 2018 after treating a woman who was foaming at the mouth and later died
Under current law, volunteers may only be covered if they are injured during an emergency response and not during other on-duty activities
The Stockton Fire Department plans to train more of its firefighters as paramedics through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant
Investigators said the parking operation was likely in violation of county rules on gifts and exchange of money for official actions
The alternative bill would fund workers’ compensation for first responders with PTSD through a different department
The “Community Heroes Protection Act” would stiffen penalties for attacks on firefighters, EMS personnel, police and correction officers
Lincoln Fire and Rescue seeks to add an eighth medic unit to address overwhelming call volumes
If voters in Bloomfield Township vote no on the upcoming millage vote, a projected 22 firefighter-paramedics could lose their jobs
Pennsylvania Water Rescue has been saving people from the Delaware and Lehigh rivers for nearly 40 years
The proposed budget includes a $50 million increase in funds to bolster the wildland fire management workforce
The chief previously highlighted an incident involving a patient taking an Uber while waiting for an ambulance to make his case
Detailing key changes to the latest grant application process
USFA would receive nearly $3 million in additional funding, while AFG and SAFER programs would be cut by more than $10 million
The bills increase the list of cancer types that will be considered work-related when firefighters seek worker’s compensation
Law enforcement, EMS and civic leaders joined forces to fund a valuable communication app and get it in the hands of first responders
Days after firefighters and town leaders clashed over the station’s closing at a public meeting, a new report detailed the misuse of relief funds