Bill to expand first responder death benefits to volunteer firefighters passes Alabama House
Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville (left) listens to Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 13, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Thursday approved a bill sponsored by Bedsole that extends a cancer death benefit to volunteer firefighters. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
A bill that would extend first responder death benefit to volunteer firefighters passed the Alabama House 102-0 on Thursday.
HB 35, sponsored by Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, would allow survivors of volunteer firefighters who die of work-related cancer to claim a death benefit award.
'They are public servants in our communities, for everything that we need,' Bedsole said on the floor of the House. 'Fighting fires is a small part of it, so this is the least we can do to help them.'
Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, expressed support for the bill and said volunteer firefighters make a difference in Alabama communities.
'Last week we had a tornado in my district … Volunteer firemen went in and pulled an 89-year-old female out … alive,' he said.
Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, said she wants to give volunteer firefighters more stability, but this bill is a good start.
'Not only are they volunteer firemen, but a lot of them have a job somewhere else,' Moore said.
According to the Alabama Forestry Commission, there are 983 volunteer fire stations across the state.
The bill goes to the Alabama Senate.
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