Alaska Presumptive Legislation Heads to Governor

April 14, 2008 – The Alaska Professional Fire Fighters is celebrating a major victory with the Senate passage of presumptive legislation to provide worker’s compensation to fire fighters who contract certain defined cancers and respiratory and cardiac diseases associated with the job of fire fighting. House Bill 200 enjoyed broad bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, with only five of 60 legislators voting against the measure.

“This is a huge step forward for our young state association,” says AKPFFA President Mark Drygas. “From the outset, we were determined to work across party lines and focus solely on fire fighter issues. Our political action efforts have paid off with passage of this legislation.” In addition, the statewide effort – directed by AKPFFA Legislative Director Jeff Briggs (Anchorage Local 1264)—also earned Alaska’s fire fighters tremendous respect in the state capitol. Every IAFF affiliate in the state, from Ketchikan in the south to the North Pole, participated in the effort.

“This is a bill that is long overdue for those who selflessly respond to emergency and health need in our communities across the state,” notes state Representative Nancy Dahlstrom.
With the 90-day legislature adjourning on April 13 and more than 100 bills sitting in the Senate Finance Committee, AKPFFA used every possible means to keep the legislation moving forward. “The so-called experts said our cause was lost,” says Drygas, “but they did not account for the fact that we are fire fighters and we don’t back down.”

The bill now awaits Governor Sarah Palin’s signature.

More than 40 states have some type of presumptive coverage for fire fighters.