The passing of the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program passing is a huge win for all firefighters in the State of Minnesota . The Minnesota Legislature passed this bill due to the hard work of groups such as MnFIRE and Minnesota Professional Firefighters. The Hometown Heroes Act targets and works to reduce the effects of emotional trauma, cancer, and heart conditions that face Minnesota firefighters.

The Hometown Heroes Assistance Program:

Provides MnFIRE Awareness training for every firefighter across the state.
Provides MnFIRE Awareness training for medical professionals so they may help prevent and mitigate the significant health risks facing firefighters.
Create a “critical care” policy for firefighters to cover the cancer and heart condition treatment, up to $20,000 of coverage..
Create MnFIRE Assistance Program for firefighters that addresses the significant emotional trauma and toil from the fire service.

“I, unfortunately, have watched many of my fellow firefighters suffer and die from cancer and heart disease, if we don’t take care of the folks we call when we’re in trouble, how can we expect them to be there when we need them? I’m passionate about this subject, and I’m honored to be carrying this bill.”
-Senator Jeff Howe, co-sponsor of this legislation

This program will significantly help Minnesota’s 22,000 firefighters who face these serious health issues.

In 2018, the National Firefighter Cancer Registry Act was passed. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or “NIOSH” is working with the CDC to establish a National Firefighter Registry to track the health of firefighters. This occupational data will help to investigate the risks factors for firefighters that develop cancer and improve the monitoring of cancer among firefighters. The goal is to enroll 200,000 firefighters nationally. This data will eventually be available to the public.

In a previous NIOSH study that tracked firefighters between 2010 and 2015, showed that involved firefighters had higher rates of digestive, oral, respiratory and urinary than the general population. This study also showed that firefighters had almost twice as many cases of malignant mesothelioma, cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Firefighters under the age of 65 who developed bladder and prostate cancer were more than expected.

We hope tracking this data and eventual studies will assist in early detection and mitigation of cancers for firefighters. Research from the CDC and NIOSH is also vital to presenting our clients’ cases in court. The statistics and evidentiary evidence is here. Work comp insurers need to start paying for firefighter's’ work-related cancer treatment.