Volunteer Firefighters Looking to Push ‘Life-Saving’ Legislation Forward
Dozens of volunteer firefighters, first responders and officials from the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) gathered Saturday morning for the Annual Onondaga County Fire and Emergency Services Education & Legislative Breakfast at the Camillus Elks Club.
The annual meeting focuses on issues pertaining to volunteer fire service.
As a group, attendees reviewed proposed legislation that are most crucial to the firefighting field.
Among the legislation reviewed, Expanded Cancer Impairment is at the forefront.
According to FASNY officials, firefighters are significantly more likely to develop many types of cancer than the general population due to high levels of carcinogens and other toxins found in burning buildings and hazardous environments.
“Being a firefighter can cause cancer,” said Tom Perkins, Northwest Fire District Chief and co-chair of the annual legislative breakfast. “We want to make the Legislature aware so that any person can be covered by insurance if they’re diagnosed with cancer. All we want is the Legislature to realize that and make provisions in the Volunteer Fireman’s Benefit Law to cover firefighters that are affected by that.”
It is critical that this legislation passes through the state Senate and Assembly and makes its way to the Governor’s desk, according to FASNY.
Another issue discussed today was that of amending the penal code to add endangering the welfare of a fire and emergency personnel.
Perkins says homes in new construction developments have the potential to be built with “wood bi-products” and the presence of a sprinkler system should be part of the uniform code for both one- and two-family dwellings.
He says these materials can “burn rapidly and a fire can be out of control in a new construction home in 10 minutes.”
In 2015, Perkins says this legislation has failed to advance out of the Codes Committee in both houses.
“I can speak from experience in my own area. We had a fire fatality last year and if that house had been protected by sprinklers that death would not have occurred,” Perkins explained. “We need to protect the people that inhabit these houses in new construction. Codes [Committee] is reluctant to pass that, they say it’s too expensive, but how do you put a price on a life?”
Perkins says these are “life-saving” measures that need to be passed.
There are currently 56 volunteer fire departments in Onondaga County.
Government leaders also attended the meeting to learn more about the legislation — including Assemblyman Al Stirpe, Onondaga County Legislative Chairman Ryan McMahon, and also several members of the Onondaga County Legislature.