A new law is on the books that will help firefighters in Massachusetts who are diagnosed with cancer, allowing the diagnosis to be considered a work-related injury.
According to the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, more than 300 active firefighters have been diagnosed with cancer in the last two years. Firefighters are also 14 percent more at risk of dying from cancer than the public.
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Now, the law will directly impact them, and Governor Charlie Baker says it's long overdue.
"For every man and woman who serves on the fire force, there's a family back home wondering and worrying about what happens," Baker said. "And they don't just worry about something terrible happens in a fire, they worry about this."
Sharmon Colarusso lost her son Tony, a Plymouth firefighter, to cancer in 2015.
Her son ran out of sick days while fighting cancer, and lost his insurance and didn't get a paycheck for 93 days.
"Tony and I had many, many conversations when he was going through treatments,' Colarusso said. "He just kept saying to me, 'Mom, I just don't want any of my brother or sister firefighters to go through this. It's not fair."
Now, the new law will allow firefighters with cancer to receive the help they need, all without the added financial stress on their families.
"To me, personally, it means that families will be taken care of," Rich MacKinnon of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts said.
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