The threats facing the fire service today are almost unrecognizable compared to even a decade ago. Each day our call volume is increasing, and our exposure to hazardous toxins is higher than ever. Firefighters operate on a similar level physically as professional athletes, willing to jump into harm’s way to protect the neighbors and communities we love.
The demands of the job on the human body and mind are almost indescribable. The average person will witness a small handful of traumatic events in their lifetime. For firefighters, going to work can mean witnessing multiple traumatic events by lunchtime.
Santa Barbara County is no stranger to wildfire threats. No one knows the devastating impacts of these fires more than our community members who have suffered property losses or personal trauma, or both, and the firefighters who have fought on the front lines to keep our community safe.
On Thursday, August 13, the California Senate Appropriations Committee voted yes 7-0 to move Assembly Bill 1383 forward in the legislative process. The bill is a desperately needed retirement reform to ensure that our communities are protected by a workforce that is healthy, prepared, and supported.
AB 1383 is a thoughtfully crafted bill that protects the cost-saving measures created by the 2012 Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) while recognizing the needs of today’s fire service.
When PEPRA was passed in 2012, it did not fully consider the health of the fire service and is leading to unforeseen harm. The cost of having firefighters work longer will be their health, which will ultimately increase workers’ compensation and disability costs.
The threats faced by firefighters aren’t going away and may only get worse in the coming years. In 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the career as a Group 1 Carcinogen because of the repeated exposure to smoke and toxic chemicals.
One key provision of the bill would lower the retirement age from 57 to 55. Two years might not seem like much, but for a firefighter, those two years can be the difference between spending the rest of your life injured and or with a long-term illness or spending those precious years with your family after decades of dedicated service.
Firefighters going on long-term medical leave is becoming more common as the years of compounded exposures push our bodies past their limit. Firefighters go to work knowing that each shift could be the one that changes them forever. During a wildfire that moves into urban areas, burning plastics, lithium-ion batteries, cars, and buildings release a toxic stew of chemicals into the air that can cause permanent respiratory problems or lead to other debilitating health issues.
Some people may see this bill as firefighters asking for more, but it is just firefighters asking for what they need. AB 1383 is not going to take away the years of danger, exposure to toxins, lack of sleep, or trauma — but it will allow our firefighters a chance at a healthy retirement.
If the bill passes the Senate, it will be on Governor Newsom to sign it and give our firefighters this much-needed reform. We have one message to the Legislature, the Governor, and every local elected official in the state: We need AB 1383.
Hugh Montgomery is president of the Santa Barbara County Professional Firefighters Local 2046.
