CSFD joins trust for firefighter healthcare
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — On Tuesday, April 23 Colorado Springs City Council voted unanimously to allow the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) to join the Colorado Firefighter Heart, Cancer, and Behavioral Health Benefits Trust.
The trust was created to aid Colorado firefighters and agencies in managing the human and financial burdens created by serious health issues. The trust mandates cardiac and voluntary cancer benefits to state firefighters. Recently the trust expanded to include behavioral health support.
“We are incredibly grateful to our city councilmembers for voting to support the health and wellbeing of our more than 500 firefighters and their families in the event they have to face medical burdens from heart, cancer, or behavioral health,” said Fire Chief Randy Royal.
CSFD said firefighters face dangers every day, including the hidden dangers during incidents such as smoke and off-gassing of the materials that are burning during fires and the strain that is placed on a heart during incidents. According to CSFD, cancer is the leading cause of firefighter death in the United States.
“Just last year we lost one of our own, Driver/Engineer Bobby Keese, to a job-related cardiac event. Unfortunately, his family wasn’t able to benefit from this trust since we were not part of it, leaving behind thousands of dollars in medical bills that could have been taken care of if we had something in place like this Trust,” said Royal.
According to CSFD, there is no cost for CSFD to join the trust until 2027, at which time it will be funded under CSFD’s budget. The Behavioral Health Trust does not cost anything for CSFD to be a part of.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.
