Firefighters' March on Capitol Raises Awareness for Better Law, Leaders Say

Thursday, January 17, 2019 | 0

Hundreds of people, including Virginia firefighters, their family members and state officials, joined in a march on a cold morning Tuesday to call attention to the need for a more inclusive cancer presumption law.

“This will hopefully drive home the point that we need to protect our service members throughout the commonwealth and protect us locally,”  Bristol Battalion Chief Michael Wise told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

Drenna Whetzel, a mother of two who lost her husband to cancer, said passing new legislation would help her family financially.

“You’re only as strong as the situation you’re in and I’m just doing what I can do for my family and my kids,” Whetzel told the WCBY television station.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and other state officials helped lead the marchers, who walked from a Richmond fire station to the state Capitol, a distance of 1.8 miles.

Two bills in the Virginia legislature, similar to bills that died in committee last year, would expand the number of cancers that are considered to be occupational diseases for firefighters and would extend workers' compensation benefits to the stricken. 

The bills already have seen some action this week, the second week of the 2019 legislative session. SB 1022 on Monday was adopted by the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee by a vote of 12-0. On the House side, HB 1804 was approved by a subcommittee of the House Commerce and Labor Committee.