Legislation to ensure fire fighters who die or are permanently and totally disabled due to COVID-19 receive full federal benefits passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously and has been sent to the president for his signature.

Important information via the International Association of Fire Fighters regarding the next round of FY 2020 SAFER Grants via IAFF General President Harold A. Schaitberger

New Jersey’s coronavirus death toll rose Thursday to 15,665 known and probable fatalities with 176,501 total positive tests, while the state’s transmission rate crept up to the critical benchmark of 1, according to the state's data.

Any firefighter exposed to “forever chemicals” in the foam used to extinguish fires on military bases who becomes ill would get government-paid medical care under a bill introduced in Congress Wednesday.

Fire departments across New Jersey are benefitting from nearly $473,000 in grants from the federal CARES Act. The Winslow Township Fire Department and Camden County IAFF 3249 members received the biggest cut.

The Department of Homeland Security with FEMA has awarded the City of Perth Amboy with two Port Security Grants. The Perth Amboy Fire Department has been awarded $900,000 towards replacing its 15-year-old fireboat, Marine 5, with a new, greater capacity fireboat.

The final word on whether Cape May will see a new multimillion-dollar public safety building, including a new headquarters for the City of Cape May Fire Department, will most likely come from the voters.

Mayday events have increased 35% during the COVID-19 pandemic and recent civil unrest, according to Don Abbott, former assistant fire chief of the Warren Township (Indiana) Fire Department, who has pioneered the study of thousands of Mayday events, including video, radio traffic and surveys dating back to 2015.

On Thursday, January 23, 2020, the Board of Directors of MONOC, historically New Jersey’s largest private, unionized EMS provider, voted unanimously to dissolve their company and transfer their services to other non-union providers. The shutdown of MONOC leaves 300 dedicated emergency medical personnel – International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) union members – out of a job. This decision places profits above service and makes millions of New Jersey residents less safe.

Culminating more than two years of intense lobbying and hard work by the IAFF and its leadership, President Donald Trump has signed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2018 (H.R. 931) into law. With this final action, the federal government takes the first steps towards establishing a one-of-a-kind national cancer registry specifically for fire fighters.