Bill Requiring Comp for Volunteer Fire Support Staff Goes to Governor

After two years of on-again, off-again action in the legislature, a bill that would force municipalities to provide workers' compensation coverage to volunteer fire departments' support staff is finally on its way to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. Supporters hope SB 94 will help address, at least to a small degree, a crisis that has been brewing in Pennsylvania, the state that launched the first volunteer fire service in America: Even as the number of volunteers has dwindled, comp costs for volunteer departments have soared. The bill, if signed by the governor, would require municipalit...