COLUMBUS, OH (WTOL) - A step forward, Tuesday, for an Ohio bill that families of firefighters have been championing for decades.
When supporters of Senate Bill 27 started their effort in 1994, 17 states had legislation on the books to help firefighters who get cancer on the job. That has now grown to 37 states.
"Four out of six, over the course of their lifetime. It's incredible the amount of firefighters getting cancer," said Kara Afrates, who supports Senate Bill 27.
Afrates's father died from pancreatic cancer, she says he got while fighting the Roger Blough fire of 1971. She also has two uncles and cousins who are firefighters, one of them in Toledo.
"Things that are burning today, all these homes aren't made of wood anymore. They're vinyl and when vinyl burns, it's highly, highly toxic," said Afrates.
Senate Bill 27 would allow firefighters to claim workers compensation for what's called "occupational cancer." Chemicals are penetrating their gear and absorbing into their skin.
"Getting this bill passed will give these families the financial security they need. That's the key thing, when you're fighting cancer, you shouldn't also have to fight the system. So, we want to fix the system to get these families the help they need," said Afrates.
The bill has passed the Senate and had its first committee hearing in the House, Tuesday. It's the farthest a bill like it has gone, but Afrates says time is running out to get the bill approved by the House before lawmakers recess for the holidays.
Each bill requires three or four committee hearings before getting a vote on the floor of the House. SB 27 has only had one, and the committee it's assigned to, the House Insurance Committee, only meets once every three weeks.
Afrates says that means it will be challenging to get it to a vote before the end of November.
She's asking voters to call Representative Barbara Sears, who chairs the committee, to get another hearing scheduled soon. Her office in Columbus is (614) 466-1731.
Senator Tom Patton sponsors the bill. He can be reached at (614) 466-8056.
WTOL 11 checked in with the Toledo Fire Department about the bill. A spokesman said he's reserving comment at this point.
