Joined by Chicago firefighters and the Gold Badge Society, U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel hailed a new law to help the families of Chicago's firefighters and other public safety officers who die in the line of duty or are permanently disabled. Jim McNally, President, Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2, and Eileen Coglianese, President, Gold Badge Society, joined Chicago firefighters and Emanuel at the recent Engine 56 station press conference.
"While families are grieving, they shouldn't be burdened with proving how their loved ones died," said Emanuel.
The law aids Chicago's "Hometown Heroes" by fixing a glitch in existing survivor benefits for the families of public safety officers, including police officers, firefighters and EMS workers.
Emanuel voted for the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act of 2003, signed into law on Dec. 15, 2003. The bill amends the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program which provides a one-time financial benefit to the eligible survivors of federal, state, and local police, fire, and emergency public safety officers killed in the line of duty and to officers who are permanently and totally disabled as the result of traumatic injuries sustained in the line of duty. Currently, the total benefit payment is $267,494.
Heart attacks were the top cause of death in 2003, claiming the lives of at least 42 firefighters, 38 percent of all firefighter deaths for the year. The victims ranged in age from 35 to 81 with an average age of 52. There were 31 heart attack deaths in 2002, 34 in 2001, 30 in 2000 and 54 in 1999.
According to a study conducted by the National Fire Protection Association, one of the country's largest advocacy organizations representing firemen, "About one-half of all line-of-duty deaths by firemen between 1977 and 1995 were not the result of fires, but heart attacks."
The Bureau of Justice Assistance supports two nonprofit organizations that assist families of public safety officers killed in the line of duty. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) honors fallen firefighters through the Annual National Memorial Weekend, gives scholarships to surviving spouses and children, supports programs for survivors and fire chiefs, and provides training to help fire departments handle line-of-duty deaths. Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) provides resources to help rebuild the lives of surviving families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty as determined by federal criteria. COPS also provides law enforcement agencies with training on survivor victimization issues and educates the public about the need to support the law enforcement profession and its survivors. |
