[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION MAKING AERIAL FIREFIGHTERS ELIGIBLE FOR 
                         FEDERAL DEATH BENEFITS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARBARA CUBIN

                               of wyoming

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 2003

  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, in April 1997, John Hirth of Buffalo, 
Wyoming, and his co-pilot lost their lives when their air tanker 
crashed near Blandburg, Pennsylvania. They were on a firefighting 
mission for a government agency, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry.
  At the time, John was making an aerial scouting of the fire, referred 
to as a dry run. Fire conditions were gusty, and turbulent wind 
patterns resulted from the fire itself.
  Immediately after dropping the fire retardant, their tanker 
encountered smoke which affected visibility.
  Just as the air tanker flew out of the smoke, its right wing hit an 
oak tree which stood above the tree line. The aircraft rolled 90 
degrees left and flew into the mountainside a quarter mile from the 
initial tree strike, exploding on impact and instantly killing John and 
his co-pilot.
  In the mid-1990s, John tried to obtain life insurance through various 
agencies. He was turned down due to his occupation as an aerial 
firefighter.
  At the time of his death, the business still had to meet payments on 
the 1997 fire contract operation (which included liability insurance, 
contract-paid pilots, fuel, oil, parts, etc.), as well as on a second 
tanker and one sprayer aircraft.
  The financial loss from this crash was so devastating that his wife, 
Connie, did not have the money to pay for her husband's funeral.
  While this is heartbreaking to us, it is a very stark reality that 
many families face when aerial firefighters are lost in the line of 
duty. There were seven fatalities last year alone involving air tankers 
and fire suppression helicopters.
  The fact is that the vast majority of those pilots lost were serving 
under a government contract at the time. They were providing aerial 
fire suppression services for the government when they lost their 
lives.
  My reason for being here today is to correct a provision in law that 
is blatantly unfair.
  I am introducing legislation that will provide some financial 
security to aerial firefighters and their families.
  This legislation recognizes all pilots and crew involved in aerial 
fire suppression as public safety officers. In doing so, the bill makes 
these deserving individuals eligible for death benefits under the 
Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, also known as PSOB.
  Under current law, aerial firefighters who are under contract with 
the government are not afforded these benefits simply because they work 
for private companies that contract with the government.
  However, without these contract pilots and crew, the federal 
government would not have the capabilities to deal with wild land 
fires.
  This legislation is a matter of common sense. Aerial firefighters are 
public safety officers in every sense of the word. With dedication and 
enthusiasm, they protect our natural resources, our communities, and 
often our very lives.
  Every day, when our men and women in the Armed Forces go out to do 
their job, they say to us, ``I am willing to risk my life for you 
today.'' Our local police officers say it as well and, yes my friends, 
so too do aerial firefighters.
  John Hirth was the primary wage earner in his air tanker business and 
his family. If PSOB had been available to them at the time of John's 
death, the financial hardships endured by his wife could have been 
minimized.
  It is time we start giving back to aerial firefighters because, if we 
don't, we will be losing a valuable resource. With no aerial 
firefighters to protect our natural resources, where will we turn?
  I don't think any of us want to face that question, so let's make 
sure we don't. Please support this legislation. It is the right thing 
to do.

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