Calling it the health protection gap, legal advocates hope Florida legislators take steps to address the health risks that affect firefighters, particularly volunteer firefighters.
In 2019, Sunshine State ratified Senate Bill 426, providing health and financial support to firefighters diagnosed with cancer. The bill offers explicit medical and disability benefits as well as a one-off $25,000 reward to help first responders deal with the negative effects of noble services. Some said the bill had a lack of recognition of the key role of volunteer firefighters as it removed groups from their coverage of protection.
One individual who supports the new law is Jonathan Sharp, CFO of the Environmental Litigation Group. He says the current law, which aims to help firefighters diagnosed with firefighters by providing medical and disability benefits, does not extend the same protections to volunteer firefighters, leaving them without reporting and support when they fall ill.
Many of the gaps consisting of volunteer firefighters from the state firefighters. They make up 29.6% of the state’s fire workforce. Nationally, they make up about 52% of the 1,054,500 firefighters, indicating that many of the first responders to U.S. emergency calls are unpaid staff. t
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“These volunteers are facing the same life-threatening situations as carrier firefighters. In some cases, they are more likely to be exposed to harmful chemicals such as PFA, which are usually found in gear and firefighting bubbles,” Sharp said.
In 202, a study from Rutgers University found that volunteer firefighters had significantly higher levels of “eternal chemicals” in blood flow than their career counterparts. According to Sharp, this is a clear indication that volunteers’ toxic exposure risk is severe, if not as bad as full-time personnel. However, despite the shared risks, they do not receive the same privileges that can streamline access to financial and medical support they need when diagnosed with cancer.
“Some states have already amended the law to fill this gap. Florida can do the same by extending presumed cancer coverage to all firefighters, whether they’re full-time or volunteer employees. This step doesn’t require complicated legislative revisions to grant services rather than pay.
