Volunteer Firefighter's Benefit Eligibility Hinges on Call to Duty

A volunteer firefighter who was killed while trying to rescue his dying employer is not entitled to death benefits because only fire officials have authority to summon a volunteer firefighter into the course of duty, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled.The state's high court determined Friday that when the Iowa Legislature drafted an ambiguous law stating that workers' compensation benefits are available when a volunteer firefighter is "summoned to duty," the legislators meant that only a fire official could actually summon the volunteer into duty.The decision arose in a case where the deceas...