Firefighters Bill to Support Emergency Responders Injured in the Line of Duty
Bangor Firefighters (IAFF 1624), Augusta firefighters (IAFF 1650), Sanford Firefighters (IAFF 1624), and the Professional Firefighters of Maine along with Congressman Jared Golden, psychiatric professionals and NAMI Maine testified before a legislative committee on Monday in support of LD 1879, which would make it easier for firefighters, EMTs, police officers, emergency dispatchers and corrections officers to get workers’ compensation benefits for work-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
Retired Bangor firefighter John York told the committee how he was forced to retire in 2020 due to PTSD he developed as a result of injuries he sustained when a section of the ceiling collapsed on top of him while he was battling a blaze at John Bapst High School in 2015. He was later given an award for his bravery by the City Council along with letters from Congresspeople and Senators praising him for his courage. But then the PTSD he suffered from the incident became unbearable.
“You don’t realize it because you’re working the job day in and day out. Working overtime because of staffing issues. Doing all the things that you’re supposed to do and then one day your wife finally has the courage to say you need to get help and that things have to change,” York told the Labor & Housing Committee. “I did not realize how bad things had gotten but I knew I didn’t want to lose my wife so I knew I needed to do something and needed to talk to somebody.”
With support from his union, York tried to file for workers’ compensation, but after seeing several physicians he was denied benefits and forced to essentially quit his job because he didn’t have enough years to retire and he couldn’t take time off time to recover.
“What kind of an answer is that? You have to quit something that you love to do and you’ve done so well?” York said. “To be told to cut your career short because the city you work for doesn’t believe you.”
As his psychologist explained to him, the mind is like a cabinet that fills up with all the things you see and experience. But then one day you you have no more space to put your files. It was as if something broke in York's mind despite the help he had been receiving. However, while emergency responders can get medical aid for their physical wounds, workers compensation was nearly impossible to get for mental health wounds. York noted that while his brothers and sisters of Local 772 donated their hours to help him get through his retirement date, not everyone is so fortunate, especially firefighters with just a few years under their belts.
In 2017, the Professional Fire Fighters of Maine (PFFM) and the Maine AFL-CIO helped pass a state law, sponsored by then State Rep. Jared Golden, requiring that when these emergency workers get PTSD, the burden of proof is on the employer to prove that the condition is not work related. Otherwise, it is incredibly difficult and time consuming for workers to prove which specific incident caused their PTSD when applying for workers’ compensation benefits. This so-called “rebuttable presumption” law is scheduled to sunset in October, 2022 and LD 1879 would extend it indefinitely.
NAMI Mainer expressed strong support for the measure and pointed toa SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services) study finding that 30 percent of first responders meeting diagnostic criteria for PTSD, compared to roughly 3.5 percent of the general population.
“It is estimated that the average person will experience 2-3 critical incidents during their lifetime, while first responders will face on average 180 work related critical events during their 25-year career,” said Hannah Longley of NAMI Maine.
The committee is expected to vote on LD 1879 in the coming weeks.