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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; State Sen. John Yudichak Thursday said volunteer emergency personnel and first responders often risk their own lives to help save others.
				&ldquo;And we must support them if they are injured while performing their duties,&rdquo; said Yudichak, I-Swoyersville. &ldquo;Senate Bill 94 helps our local municipalities and will give our volunteer emergency personnel peace of mind that they will have the financial resources available to make a full recovery if they get injured while performing their duties.&rdquo;
				Yudichak announced that the Senate has concurred with changes made in the House to Senate Bill 94.
				Senate Bill 94 will be sent to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature.
				Senate Bill 94, sponsored by Sen. Scott Martin, would ensure coverage for all active volunteers and integral members of a volunteer fire, ambulance or rescue company insured through the State Workers Insurance Fund (SWIF).
				In June 2019, an amendment to the bill by Sen. Christine Tartaglione, D - Philadelphia, offered on behalf of Sen. Yudichak, was adopted unanimously in the Senate Labor & Industry Committee. The amendment declared that whenever members of volunteer fire companies, volunteer ambulance corps, or rescue and lifesaving squad members are injured in the performance of duty on state game land, the members are considered to be employees of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
				Yudichak drafted the amendment because of volunteer emergency service personnel who have been injured on rescues at Glen Onoko Falls.
				&ldquo;This legislation is great for our local municipalities when responding to emergency calls and rescues at locations like Glen Onoko where our first responders have to navigate dangerous terrain,&rdquo; said Wayne Nothstein, Chairman, Carbon County Commissioners. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to see the state stepping up and protecting our volunteers.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;This has long been a concern for our volunteer firefighters and first responders,&rdquo; said John McArdle, Fire Chief, Nesquehoning Hose Co. No. 1. &ldquo;What this legislation does now is it helps lessen the burden on our local municipalities that would have to pay worker&rsquo;s compensation for someone that would get injured while on a call or rescue on state game land. It&rsquo;s a great thing for everyone involved.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;I am thrilled to learn that this important legislation was passed and it&rsquo;s a big help to our volunteer firefighters and first responders in Carbon County,&rdquo; said Mark Nalesnik, Director, Carbon County Emergency Management Agency. &ldquo;I would like to thank Senator Yudichak and all the other legislators who helped to get this bill passed. This will be a big help to our emergency services when we need to deal with issues on state game land.&rdquo;

Sen. Yudichak lauds passage of Senate Bill 94