Officials Give Impact From the First Year of Landmark Firefighter Health Program

(KNSI) — The Hometown Heroes Assistance Program is marking its first year with some pretty impressive stats.

Spearheaded by Rockville area Senator and firefighter Jeff Howe, the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program dedicates $4 million per year to Minnesota firefighters, which covers diagnoses of cancer or cardiac issues and up to $20,000 per diagnosis. It also creates a MnFIRE Assistance Program for all Minnesota firefighters to target emotional trauma issues unique to the fire service. It also ensures additional support for firefighters who remain in need beyond initial treatment sessions.

In the 12 months since the legislation was enacted, the program has provided 721 firefighter-focused mental health providers across the state to offer up to five no-cost counseling sessions for firefighters and their families. It also created an expanded network of trained MnFIRE Peer Supporters, which has responded to 430 calls and paid 52 critical illness claims, including full-benefit cancer, COVID-19, post-traumatic stress disorder, skin cancer, ALS, heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest, heart disease, kidney failure, coronary artery disease needing surgery and other mental disorders, totaling $773,000.

The legislation supports and sustains ongoing MnFIRE Awareness training to help change the current culture in the Minnesota Fire Service for long-term reductions in the incidences of cancer, emotional trauma, and cardiac issues. It is not just limited to Minnesota firefighters. It is also aimed at doctors and mental health professionals to aid in their ability to prevent, diagnose and mitigate those issues. The program has provided 512 MnFIRE trainings to 13,929 firefighters.

When the legislation was passed, Howe said, “I don’t think there’s a firefighter anywhere that doesn’t know one of their colleagues that either had a heart problem, or a cancer issue. And this doesn’t just go for us firefighters. It also goes to our families, because our families are here, to deal with most of this.” He called the passage “huge,” adding, “I think it’s going to pay big dividends in the future, not only for those of us currently in the fire service, but those of us that will come behind us.”

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