President Donald Trump has signed into law a measure that would provide benefits to families of firefighters – including wildland firefighters – killed or disabled by certain cancers.
The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act was introduced by Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar in January, but has received substantial bipartisan support.
“This is a critical victory for our firefighters who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe, and for their loved ones,” Klobuchar said in a release.
“[Firefighters’] exposure to dangerous carcinogens happens on our behalf,” North Dakota Republican co-sponsor Kevin Cramer said. “When these heroes make the ultimate sacrifice, their families should not have to bear these burdens alone.”
The reform will provide federal line-of-duty death and disability benefits, as well as education support, to families of firefighters in the wake of diagnoses of a long list of cancers, including lung and bladder cancer. The one-time death or disability payment is roughly $460,000. Monthly education funding is nearly $1,600.
Edward Kelly, head of the International Association of Fire Fighters union, which strongly backed the legislation, called it an important benefit.
“But at the end of the day, that takes care of the families of our fallen,” he said. “It doesn't address what's putting our firefighters [on] their deathbeds.”
He said he’d like to see more work on early detection of cancer, improving safety equipment and continued research into what’s driving elevated cancer risks. In 2023, a World Health Organization body classified the exposures faced in the profession as carcinogenic. He noted the reform also covers volunteer and wildland firefighters.
“Respiratory protection right now for wildland firefighters is basically a handkerchief,” Kelly said. “And we can do a lot better than that in 2025, and our firefighters deserve better.”
He says the benefit will be retroactive to serious cancer diagnoses as far back as 2020.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
