LUBBOCK, Texas — On Tuesday, June 11, Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2551, which aims to give firefighters with line-of-duty injuries and illnesses better medical coverage.
According to the SB 2551, there will be 11 types of cancers that are covered and it will be assumed that the cancer happened as a result of the job, making firefighters more eligible for worker’s compensation benefits.
Brian Stephens, with the Lubbock Professional Firefighters Association, said each time they are on the job they are exposed to dangerous chemicals which puts them at risk.
“No other occupation exposes the employee to the hazards that firefighters face,” Stephens said.
Lubbock representative, Dustin Burrows, said he has been working in Austin to find bills to help firefighters get the coverage and medical treatment they need to recover from an illness.
“We went a long way to actually make sure we had an overhaul of that system,” Burrows said. “So their not wrongfully denied hose benefits.”
