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.
Tuscan Development’s gift will temporarily fund staffing at the Water Street Fire Station, easing Haverhill Fire Department’s ongoing budget strain
Assembly Bill 321, authored by former inmate turned legislator Jovan Jackson, creates transitional housing and a hiring pipeline for conservation camp firefighters
Essex chief told selectmen the all-volunteer model is no longer sustainable and outlined a plan to add limited full-time staff, expand daytime coverage and and modernize the fleet
The bill would provide coverage for firefighters who are diagnosed with digestive, urinary, prostate neurological or melanoma cancers
The legislation would greatly expand the definition of a public safety officer as a police officer, emergency health worker and firefighter
The legislation would also include killings of current and former military members
The bill will make obstructing a firefighter who is providing emergency medical care a misdemeanor
The bill would implement a statewide policy requiring jurisdictions to allow responders to carry while on duty
The bill would make first responders a protected class under a law that applies to crimes motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation or national origin
Capt. Jeff Atkinson was diagnosed with testicular cancer, but was denied worker’s compensation
The registry would enable researchers to study the relationship between firefighters’ exposure to dangerous fumes and harmful toxins
The House voted to triple penalties for committing violence against firefighters, police and other responders
Fire station staff levels will drop from 17 to 14; it has not been that low since the 1990s
Crews are pushing for a revised version of a bill, which limits eligibility to cancer-stricken firefighters living tobacco-free for five years prior to diagnosis
The bill would offer a cash-balance retirement plan to newly hired officers and firefighters, rather than a traditional pension
As part of an elderly woman’s will, a check for $83,000 was meant to be sent to the Gold Ridge Fire Department to thank them for frequently responding to her 911 calls
The exemption also allows the U.S. Forest Service to hire employees necessary to “meet national security responsibilities” or “public safety responsibilities”
The bill requires that firefighters working for at least a year with a department receive a lump payment if diagnosed with certain cancers
Critics say the state should not intervene in local labor contracts and describe the push as an attack on firefighters
In 2017, expect substance abuse, mental illness, innovative technology and collaborative solutions to be top trends in EMS grant funding
Families of volunteer firefighter and volunteer ambulance workers who are killed in the line of duty would receive payment of death benefits
The expansion now requires motorists to pull over for emergency vehicles with flashing blue or green lights
Any crime committed against emergency personnel would be considered a hate crime
Firehouse Subs will fund more than $1 million in public safety equipment, disaster relief and more through quarterly grants
The proposal would allow a one-time payment of $50,000 to a spouse, child or other designated person starting next year
Any crime committed against emergency personnel would be considered a hate crime
The legislation increased the benefits some volunteer firefighters receive, but it also changed the qualifications for the program
SAFER grant applicants’ success will be partly determined by how well they match up with this list of priorities
After leaving the fire service, firefighters could receive up to five years of coverage for an illness
The fire service doesn’t come free and now is the time to remind newly elected or re-elected officials of that fact
The state currently covers seven types of cancer it assumes firefighters get from their job
Over the next five years, the department wants to replace vehicles, equipment and to repair and rebuild aging fire stations
Although there are limitations to the law, it offers coverage to those who are diagnosed with cancer due to their profession
