KIMT

By Sananda McCall

ROCHESTER, Minn.-- U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) Minnesota says firefighters and their families deserve to be supported as they risk their lives while in the line of duty.

She made a stop at the Rochester Fire Department’s Station 1 Monday afternoon to discuss the  recently introduced 'Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act'.

The bill would support families of firefighters and other first responders who have died due to exposure from cancerous toxins while on the job.

It would also provide disability benefits to those who have become permanently disabled due to the exposures.

Sen. Klobuchar helped introduced the bipartisan bill in honor of Michael Paidar, fire captain of the Maple Grove Fire Department  in Saint Paul who passed away from an aggressive form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia  in 2020.

Klobuchar says she's been working on a firefighter cancer registry in order to highlight the need for the bill to be passed.

“We're just going to make it easier for them and their families to get the help they need when they're taking on a job that clearly shows a higher incidence of cancer." she says.