On November 2nd there was a vote even more important then the Presidential race, and only 3382 people voted on it. Many of us may not even have known that the vote was happening as it was held in Lancaster, MA. The vote, which failed, was to provide a death benefit to the family of Martin McNamara V, a firefighter who died in the line of duty on November 29, 2003. The vote failed by only 18 votes.
McNamara was a call firefighter who made the supreme sacrifice on November 29th, 2003, leaving behind his loving wife who was pregnant at the time with his third child. Lancaster’s legislation provides for a benefit in the case of a permanent disability of a call firefighter, but not in case of death. Conversely, Lancaster is required by state legislation to pay a full time firefighter’s widow his full salary annually if he lost his life in the line of duty.
If this case does not show the rift between paid and volunteer members, I am not sure what does. Two firefighters, doing the same job, in the same town, and one widow gets a full salary benefit and the other gets nothing. To top it off, shortly after McNamara’s death, ‘pundits’ started saying it was secondary to a lack of training on the volunteers part. ( http://www.withthecommand.com/2003-Nov/OH-billyg-volcar.html ) I will save the debate on training for later, and continue with the facts of the McNamara family’s benefit....
I applaud Lancaster in that they made an attempt to make the situation right. The first thing they investigated was whether or not the death of a firefighter can be considered a permanent disability. While a layman may say it is worse then a permanent disability and should qualify, the lawyers said otherwise. The interesting fact is that even if the lawyers called it a permanent disability, McNamara’s widow would only be entitled to 2/3rds of an entry firefighter’s pay.
Since Lancaster could not pay the disability amount, they decided that they would attempt to pay it to his widow as a death benefit. This would require a vote by the town council, approval from the state legislature and a ratification vote by the town. The town meeting voted 157 to 0 to purchase an annuity for $650,000 which would provide for a benefit of 2/3rds of a first year career firefighter’s salary plus $2,600 for each of McNamara’s children.
The townspeople had to vote on the measure because it would cause an increase of their taxes by 7 percent for one year only. This means a $2000 tax bill would be increased by $140 for one year only. The legislature approved the proposal and the town set a vote for November 2nd, the day of the Presidential elections. This is where the real fire started. This is also where marketing comes in.
To understand the town, you need to look at its history. Lancaster’s last line of duty death was 60 years prior. The town had also in the past few years had to vote on a significant tax increase. Townspeople were burnt from the last increase, and were naturally reluctant to vote for another one.
The town and the fire department held an impressive funeral for firefigther McNamara which was attended by over 1500 firefighters, all the local government heads and even the governor and attorney general. ( http://www.mothertown.com/12-4-03.pdf ) If there is one thing fire departments do right it is funerals. Sad to say, but at least we show our respect to those who gave the biggest sacrifice.
The department and the community also set up a fund for the McNamara family and did what they could to help. ( http://www.nvfc.org/news/hn_2003_ild4.html ) This fund, along with the Pubic Service Officer’s Benefit would become one of the hot points of those who opposed the vote. As a matter of fact, the family received government benefits totaling $397,494. The children are also eligible to go to any state college tuition free. All of these benefits would be available to a career firefighter who died in the line of duty in addition to their annual salary and benefits.
Those opposed to the vote wanted the McNamara family to open up their books and tell the public what they have received in donations. This just boggles me. Here is a family who lost their father, husband, and provider, who the public wants to judge whether or not they ‘need’ the money. What happened to showing support and appreciating the commitment that FF McNamara made?
As if this wasn’t disgraceful enough, the community decided to attack McNamara’s training and to even spread rumors that he was drunk and did not have an air pack on. Whoever did this should be ashamed of themselves and I hope we never need to save them.
The town and the department did a great start by fighting the facts and laying out the facts at http://atlanticuc.edu/lancaster/mcnamara.html. While I think the facts are important, I think the marketing pitch might be slightly off. The facts support the proposal, explain the reason it has to be voted in, and the injustice that will be corrected by the vote. The problem is, by trying to fight the opponents reactively, they may have lost the 18 votes they needed to pass the measure.
This is a simple issue of solidarity. Each and every firefighter needs to take this issue to heart, not matter whether you are career or volunteer. While I personally think the benefit should be the same as a paid firefighter would receive, at least the proposal was a step in the right direction. The real marketing statement should have been that this is what the family is owed. This is a sign of our support for our fire department, its members and the commitment they make.
There should never have been a debate about training, who trains more, and whether or not McNamara would have survived with the right training. While we should learn from our losses, it should be in a productive manner rather then pointing fingers.
The 1615 people in Lancaster who voted against this measure just told the firefighters what they are worth in their minds. I am sure they think differently of them when they respond to their house, but when it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, they let us all down.
WAAF, ( http://www.waaf.com/ ) the local radio station immediately after the vote started an effort to raise more funds for the family. The town of Lancaster is also meeting on November 8th to discuss the issue. No matter what happens with the issue now, we all need to support the firefighters not only in Lancaster but throughout the US. Joanne Foster, Chairman, Lancaster Board of Selectmen stated that “We are troubled by the anger and vitriol that has surfaced since Tuesday’s vote, in large part, incited by certain media outlets and residents outside of Lancaster”. Well I am sure I just got added to her list. While she may say that “The Massachusetts Legislature has failed, every year, to pass a bill that was filed to provide legislation authorizing a pension for surviving families of call firefighters”, so has Lancaster.
Ms. Foster’s points are valid that we need to have State and or Federal support, but the town is ultimately responsible for providing for the safety of its townspeople. I would like to see how it will accomplish this when it refuses to support those who volunteer their time. I guess it just goes to the saying I use... “What if Volunteers Didn’t”?
Discuss this column at http://www.volunteerfd.org/phorum/read.php?f=20&i=201&t=201