05/25/2019
A Letter to the Alabama Fire Service, dated May 24, 2019:
By: Gene Necklaus
Fellow firefighters, many of you who know me or maybe follow me on social media know that I have been a fervent supporter of the Firefighter Cancer Insurance Bill currently in our State’s Legislature. Many, many others share in my support but there are some among us who do not. Please take a moment and let me personally explain why I am passionate about this.
From my seat in my office, I have looked into the faces of great firefighters as they shared with me those dreaded words, words nobody wants to hear and nobody wants to say. “Chief, I have cancer.” I have watched them fight and fight. I have seen them beat cancer after years of struggle, and come back to full duty continuing the fantastic service we all provide. I have also watched a firefighter battle for years until he couldn’t fight anymore. The dreaded fact is I know there will be more to come through that door and try to muster up the strength to say those words.
This legislation is not about winning or losing, not about waiving a banner, or having a photo op. This is about the next man or woman who walks through that door. What are we going to do for them? I have heard a few explanations attempting to justify opposing cancer coverage for our firefighters, some of them include “it’s not enough money,” “we would rather wait on worker’s comp,” and even “we didn’t get enough say so in the beginning.”
I extend a challenge to anybody who opposes this benefit. The next time I have to have that awful conversation, I encourage you to sit beside me and look at those faces. Listen to those words. And look that man or woman in the eye and explain to them your reasons. Tell them why you resisted this and why they get zero. Tell them why the best we have to offer is our thoughts and prayers and then wish them luck.
We are in a remarkable position. Our Cities and employers have embraced this benefit. The majority of our fire service has embraced this benefit. It is within our grasp, and if we can collectively extend our hands in unison, we can secure this for our people. But there remain one or two hands that want to swat this away and leave our firefighters with nothing but thoughts and prayers and well wishes. Our people deserve more than just “Good Luck.”
I am not willing to give up on our people. I’m not willing to lie down and watch this be swatted away. There will be those who take offense to this letter, those who have anger towards me, but this is who I am. I care about our firefighters more than I care about who gets mad.
There are four major fire service organizations in Alabama. Many of us belong to one or more of them; alphabetically they are the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs, the Alabama Association of Volunteer Fire Departments, the Alabama Firefighters Association, and the Professional Firefighters of Alabama. Does your organization know where you stand? Does your Senator know where you stand?
If you don’t want to leave your brothers and sisters, or maybe even yourself one day, with only “thoughts and prayers” in a cancer fight, I implore you to call your legislators and your organizations and tell them so. This is within our reach, if our collective voice is loud enough to be heard.
