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When firefighters fought devastating flames in Los Angeles County in January, US Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla from California both signed the law for simple purposes.
Celebrating our fallen hero law is considered very important by its supporters, with climate change driving the frequency of wildfires increasing, and firefighters being considered carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. A 2024 study found that firefighters are 14% more likely to die from cancer than the general population, causing the disease to cause 66% of career firefighters deaths from 2002 to 2019.
The wildfires in Los Angeles brought the horror produced by these statistics to bold relief. Homes, businesses, cars and products within them were incinerated, and gas, chemicals, asbestos and other toxic pollutants were released into the air, often settling in soil and dust. In many cases, first responders working at close range without proper respiratory protection were at increased risk of developing health.
Just a few days after the fire was contained, researchers tested a group of 20 firefighters from Northern California to help fight the flames, finding dangerous levels of lead and mercury in their blood. The results are part of a long-term study tracking the health effects of the January fire, for those exposed to toxic emissions. The team includes researchers from Harvard, UCLA, UC Davis, University of Texas at Austin and USC Keck School of Medicine.
“Firemen and first responders have brought California communities to life without rethinking to protect them from the devastating Southern California fires,” Padilla said in a statement. “When they sacrifice their lives or face severe disability due to service-related cancers, we have a common obligation to help our families get back on track.”
But our fallen hero law has bipartisan support, but it still faces a politically rough road, and those who have spent years dealing with similar government-run programs warn of major issues of enforcement if the law becomes law.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a similar bill in 2024, but the measure did not advance to the floor vote. And as legislators are pondering potentially massive federal budget cuts, the fate of this year in Congress is not clear. What is clear is that the devil is in detail because of the law that links benefits to service-related health conditions.
“To hand over some of the law is not as difficult as to obey it,” said John Feel, who was injured on the 9/11 Ground Zero Site while working as a demolition superintendent. He has since become a fierce advocate for his first responders and military veterans.
“We’ll see legislation mature as people come forward in need of support,” Feel said. At that point, he added that the program’s ability to grow, and the ability to successfully handle applications of those who have moved forward for help, could be a challenge.
That’s what happened with the various government programs created after the 9/11 attacks by providing financial compensation and health care to first injured responders, including some who were later diagnosed with cancer. The Victim Compensation Fund and the World Trade Center health program on September 11 encountered substantial funding problems and was plagued by logistical failures.
The structure of our fallen hero honor laws sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (d-minn.) may allow us to avoid fundraising pitfalls. Rather than creating a new benefits program, the bill grants firefighters with access to the long-time public safety officer benefits program with 9/11 cancer-related conditions.
Death benefits for such programs are considered essential expenditures and are funded regardless of Congressional budget decisions. However, funds for disability and education benefits depend on the annual budget.
Even with full funding, the act could face similar implementation issues as plaguing the 9/11 program, including complex eligibility criteria, making it difficult to document the illness being service-related.
Attorney Michael Barash represented the late New York Police Detective James Zadroga. James Zadroga developed pulmonary fibrosis from toxic exposure on the World Trade Center site, and has been named the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Barash, who still represents lobbying for 9/11 victims and lobbying for programme improvements and fundraising, said our falling hero law should streamline the process by which first responders document that cancer is linked to the fight against wildfires.
“In my experience representing more than 40,000 members of the 9/11 community, similar programs require a clear set of standards to determine eligibility,” Barasch told KFF Health News. “Unnecessary complexity creates a serious risk that responders who should have been qualified may not have access to benefits.”
Feal added that lawmakers should be prepared to strengthen funding in order to properly staff the public safety officer benefits programme if added to the currently covered terms.
“In 2015, 75,000 people participated in the program. We now have nearly 140,000,” Fehl said. “There is a backlog for enrolling in the WTC program, because they are understaffed, so there is also a backlog for certifying your illness.
With the Public Safety Officer Benefit Program currently in place, firefighters and other first responders are supported in physical injuries suffered in their duties or deaths from duties-related heart attacks, strokes, mental health conditions and 9/11-related illnesses. The bill adds provisions for people who die from other service-related cancers or become disabled forever.
Our Falling Heroes Act was introduced in 2023 and reintroduced this January 23rd, with Klobuchar referencing California wildfires in her news release. The Congressional Budget Office estimated last year that the bill would cost around $250 million a year from 2024 to 2034. No weights have been included since the scale was reintroduced.
“There is no denying the grip on cancer firefighters,” said Edward Kelly, president of International ASSN. Firefighter’s. “When firefighters die of working cancer, they owe it to them to ensure that their families will benefit from the mandatory death they owes.”
This article was produced by KFF Health News, a national newsroom that produces detailed journalism on health issues.
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