Local firefighter pushing to protect colleagues
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKBN) – Working in the fire service is a Gossard tradition, Dan Gossard is a volunteer in Springfield Township as was his father Chuck before him.
'He was a fourth-generation firefighter. So, obviously, his dad was involved, grandfather, great-grandfather — so I've been around it my whole life,' Gossard said.
But Gossard said it was truly Chuck's passion. He served for 33 years at the firehouse in Petersburg.
'Anytime the tones for the bells dropped, he was going. He left birthday parties and events, but this was his pride and soul,' Gossard said.
Chuck died three years ago this month, just six months after being diagnosed with melanoma. It's something Gossard said was caused by decades of exposure to toxic fumes and smoke fighting fires. Gossard is now among a growing number of first responders pushing for new federal regulations to help surviving family members.
'Right now, it's only state to state through workers comp, so there are some families out there that aren't getting any benefits,' Gossard said.
House Bill 1719 was introduced in the last session of Congress and had the support of Valley lawmaker Michael Rulli, but it never passed. The measure will now have to be re-introduced if it's ever to become law.
'There's a lot of pushing on the back end. There's a union for the professional firefighters, the IAFF, they're really involved with that,' Gossard said.
In the meantime, Gossard said the community can show its support by sending letters to lawmakers urging them to take action.
'Cancer was the leading cause of death for firefighters — it's 73% of the deaths are occupational cancers. It's just getting worse and worse,' Gossard said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
West Jordan man allegedly kills roommate's dog, claiming it was a robot
WEST JORDAN, Utah () — A West Jordan man is in custody after he allegedly killed his roommate's dog, claiming it was a robot that had been 'mimicking him,' according to court documents. Drake Montgomery, 23, was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on third-degree felony charges of torturing a companion animal and obstruction of justice, as well as second-degree felony arson. Police say Montgomery was taken into custody on Monday, June 2, shortly after he allegedly attempted to start a fire in Emigration Canyon. After an investigation, officers reported Montgomery had allegedly stabbed his roommate's dog and was in the canyon attempting to dispose of the evidence. Associate Chief Justice John Pearce to step down from Utah Supreme Court The dog was later found in the trunk of Montgomery's vehicle, along with burnt rags, cleaning fluid and a shovel, according to court records. While interviewing with detectives, Montgomery allegedly admitted to punching the dog multiple times and trying to choke the dog. When the dog began to fight back, he reportedly admitted to stabbing it several times. According to court documents, Montgomery believed the dog had been mimicking him and was 'causing him significant stress.' 'He expressed a belief that the dog was not real, but rather a robot, as the dog was neuralinked to him, and he could no longer handle the situation,' the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit. Montgomery was booked on the aforementioned charges and has been ordered to be held without bail, pending a pretrial hearing. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Republicans want to stop judges from issuing nationwide injunctions Self-regulating as a parent Schumer warns of rise in antisemitism White House sends Congress request for $9.4 billion in DOGE cuts Braylynn's battle with Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia (NKH) Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Search warrant leads to seizure of firearms, 3D printers, drugs in Wisconsin
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WFRV) – A search warrant led to the discovery of several illegal items at the end of May in southeast Wisconsin. According to the Milwaukee Police Department, officers, in conjunction with other personnel assigned to the North Central High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, served a search warrant on Milwaukee's north side on May 30. Man arrested after leading Wisconsin deputies on pursuit, getting stuck in field The following items were confiscated as a result of the search: Nine pistol machine gun conversion devices Five rifle auto-sears 16 pistols Three rifles Four rifle suppressors Five pistol suppressors 14 3D printers 16.37 grams of psilocybin mushrooms Man arrested after leading Wisconsin deputies on pursuit, getting stuck in field The HIDTA program, created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, provides assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. For more information on the program, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Andrew Cuomo Says He'll 'Spend 8 Years in Washington' Fighting Trump if Elected N.Y.C. Mayor
In a new interview with Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor said he hopes to take on the Trump administration's Medicaid cuts if he is elected mayor of New York City. Andrew Cuomo is currently running as both a Democrat and third-party candidate to unseat N.Y.C. Mayor Eric Adams, who is facing federal criminal charges. Cuomo is also currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly lying under oath to Congress about COVID-19 deaths that happened during his tenure as Cuomo is running for mayor of New York City, but he's already pitching it as a position with national impact. In a new interview with Politico, the disgraced former New York governor shared that, if elected mayor of N.Y.C, he would leverage his power to take on the Trump administration's Medicaid cuts. 'I would spend eight years in Washington — go to that U.S. Conference of Mayors, go to the National Governors Association,' he said. 'He's cutting Medicaid. Medicaid is not a blue-city, blue-state situation. That is in every state. That is a lot of red congressional districts. And he could lose the House on cutting Medicaid if you organized it and got it moving.' New York City receives billions of dollars in federal funding every year, which would certainly provide Cuomo with a political link to D.C. However, even if he wins the November 2025 mayoral election, the new mayor would not officially take office until Jan. 1, 2026, giving him just over three years until Trump's successor is sworn in as the 48th president of the United States. Cuomo's insistence on Medicaid as a national issue, however, has amplified murmurs that his plan to win the mayoral seat is merely a springboard to the Democratic nomination in the 2028 presidential election. Regardless of his future plans, Cuomo, 67, said that he expects that any Democrat who might win the mayoral race will be scrutinized by the Trump administration, calling it the 'price of admission.' 'Assume any person who becomes mayor will be investigated. Just assume that. If they oppose Trump, he will investigate them for leverage,' he said. Cuomo is speaking from experience. On May 20, The New York Times reported that Trump's Department of Justice had opened an investigation alleging that Cuomo lied while testifying to Congress about New York nursing home deaths during COVID-19 that occurred during his time as governor. Cuomo's spokesman, Rich Azzopardi, told the newspaper that the investigation is an attempt by the president to take out one of Eric Adams' strongest competitors. 'We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now?' Azzopardi said. 'The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple — something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against.' He added that Cuomo 'testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the subcommittee — but from the beginning this was all transparently political.' In response to Cuomo's quotes about leveraging his mayoral power to fight the Trump Medicaid cuts, White House spokesperson Kush Desai fired back, 'The last time Andrew Cuomo had a say in health care, thousands of New York's most vulnerable perished in nursing homes due to Cuomo's blatant incompetence and disregard for science. Cuomo is not the white knight that Democrats are looking for to stop Republicans' commonsense effort to protect Medicaid by taking illegal immigrants off the program.' Cuomo first announced his bid to unseat Adams, who recently faced federal criminal charges, in a post shared on X on Saturday, March 1. "Our city is in crisis. That's why I am running to be Mayor of New York City," Cuomo wrote alongside a 17-minute video, in which he explained his decision to run. "We need government to work. We need effective leadership." The politician served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021, before resigning in August 2021 after an investigatory report was released that alleged he "sexually harassed multiple women." Cuomo appeared to allude to his resignation in his announcement video, saying: "Did I always do everything right in my years of public service? Of course not. Would I do some things differently knowing what I know now? Certainly. Did I make mistakes? Some painfully. Definitely." Cuomo is polling as the front-runner in the Democratic mayoral primary, though he has said he will run as a third-party candidate in the general election whether or not he wins the Democratic nomination. Read the original article on People
