Klobuchar, Firefighters and Advocates Celebrate Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act Being Signed Into Law

ST. LOUIS PARK, MN - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar was joined by Minnesota Professional Firefighters Association President Scott Vadnais, IAFF Saint Paul Local 21 President Kyle Thornberg, IAFF Minneapolis Local 82 President Mark Lakosky, St. Louis Park Fire Chief Peter Hanline, Julie and Meghan Paidar, St. Louis Park Mayor Nadia Mohamed, and St. Louis Park firefighters to celebrate the passage of Klobuchar's bipartisan Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act and honor the memory of Captain Michael Paidar, who died in 2020 from an aggressive form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia while serving with the Saint Paul Fire Department.

"Passing this bipartisan legislation was a critical victory for our firefighters who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe, and their loved ones," said Senator Klobuchar. "With the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act now signed into law, we are ensuring that the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program covers service-related cancers-honoring the memory of Captain Paidar and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice."

"I'm grateful to Senator Klobuchar for leading the bipartisan Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act. Every day, our nation's first responders selflessly serve and protect their communities. Unfortunately, through exposures on the job, many are also fighting occupational cancer. As our family knows firsthand, the lives of the first responder and their family are forever changed upon the cancer diagnosis. Mike loved being a career firefighter and paramedic. Losing him to Leukemia in 2020 was devastating not only for our family, but also for his fire family and our communities. This important legislation will honor his legacy and recognize the sacrifices of our fallen, allowing first responders and their families to receive the PSOB benefits they rightly deserve," said Julie Paidar, widow of St. Paul Fire Captain Michael Paidar.

"Minnesota's firefighters and their families are better protected than ever today because of the passage of the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act,"said Scott Vadnais, President of the Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters Association. "Thanks to Senator Klobuchar's steadfast leadership of the bipartisan effort to pass this bill, firefighters who perish in the line of duty from job-related cancer will get the benefits they deserve. Cancer is by far the greatest threat to firefighter safety, and the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act recognizes the constant risk for contracting cancer taken by our firefighters every day when they show up for work, in the same way we recognize the other risks of the dangerous nature of firefighting."

The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act expands access to federal support for the families of firefighters and other first responders who pass away or become permanently disabled from service-related cancers. Last week, the President signed the bill into law.

Previously, firefighters were only eligible for support under the Public Safety Officer Benefits (PSOB) program for physical injuries sustained in the line-of-duty, or for deaths from duty-related heart attacks, strokes, mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and 9/11 related illnesses.

In 2021, after strong advocacy from the Paidar family, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety awarded line-of-duty benefits to Captain Paidar's widow Julie. This was the first time that a firefighter's family had received benefits for cancer incurred in the line-of-duty through Minnesota's state Public Safety Officer Benefits program. The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act extends similar benefits to firefighters and other first responders across the country as a part of the federal PSOB program.

###