By Matthew Umstead
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The families of two firefighters killed in a propane explosion Tuesday in Raleigh County, W.Va., would have been eligible for a $50,000 death benefit that is being proposed by state Sen. John Unger and has the backing of four other senators in the first session of the 78th Legislature.
“It’s just a way to bring financial security for families who send their loved ones off in harm’s way like down there in Ghent (W.Va.),” Unger said Wednesday when contacted about Senate Bill 90, which was introduced Jan. 15.
Unger said he collaborated with Scott Schill, chief of the Bedington Volunteer Fire Department, to draft the bill, which proposes the death benefit be given to families of “firefighters and EMS personnel who are killed as a result of an injury arising out of and in the course of performance of official duties or arising out of any activity on or off duty in the capacity of a firefighter or EMS provider.”
Full Story: Death benefit bill for W.Va. emergency responders introduced