June 29, 2020
By: Staff Report
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis issued the following statement on Governor Ron DeSantis’ signing of Senate Bill 1092, the Firefighter Cancer Decontamination Equipment Grant Program, which creates a resource within the Department of Financial Services to continue to protect the health of Florida’s firefighters and promote their safety by providing financial assistance to qualifying fire departments to help procure equipment, supplies, and educational training designed to mitigate exposure to hazardous, cancer-causing chemicals. This builds on CFO and State Fire Marshal Patronis’ cancer prevention initiative to protect Florida’s firefighters.
CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis said, “I applaud Governor DeSantis for signing Senate Bill 1092 which will now ensure Florida’s firefighters are provided with vital equipment, training, and supplies to mitigate exposure to cancer-causing contaminants. I thank our bill sponsors, Senator Aaron Bean and Representative Elizabeth Fetterhoff, for championing this critical legislation to protect these heroes from this deadly disease.”
Representative Elizabeth Fetterhoff said, “Florida’s firefighters are out there every day risking their lives making sure that we’re safe. We need to ensure that they are taken care of as well by providing them the tools to protect themselves and their families. Thank you to Governor DeSantis for signing this legislation, as we will now be able to provide the equipment and other resources needed to protect Florida’s firefighters.”
Senator Aaron Bean said, “Floridians depend on their local fire fighters every day to come to their aid at a moment’s notice. This legislation ensures that those firefighters receive the needed equipment and represents that we are there to keep them safe.”