This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to develop a Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program within 6 months of enactment. The Program must provide help to next-of-kin of firefighters and wildland fire support personnel who are sick, critically injured, or killed while working. Required Program elements include procedures for notifications, reimbursement for travel to visit hospitalized or deceased personnel, training and duties for casualty assistance officers, relief or reassignment rules for those officers, centralized short- and long-term case management, a free website with personalized benefit and financial assistance information for survivors, a way for survivors to file complaints or ask for more help, liaison with the Department of Justice and Social Security Administration on survivor benefits, and data collection in consultation with the U.S. Fire Administration and NIOSH. The bill says the Program will not change existing Line of Duty Death benefit authorities. The bill also defines an order of priority for next-of-kin.
No publicly available information.
The bill directs creation of a structured Program to ensure timely notifications, travel reimbursements, trained casualty assistance officers, centralized case management, and free, personalized benefit information for survivors of wildland firefighter and support personnel line-of-duty injuries or deaths.
No publicly available information.