By Tom Searls
Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)
Copyright 2007 Charleston Newspapers
Death benefits for the families of firefighters and emergency medical personnel who die in the line of duty unanimously passed the House of Delegates Wednesday.
The legislation (HB2801) was spurred on following the late January deaths of two Raleigh County firefighters who responded to a propane tank leak and subsequent explosion in Ghent.
The bill would give surviving family members $50,000.
Ghent volunteer firefighters Craig Lawrence Dorsey, 24, and Frederick Allen Burroughs, 51, were killed during the explosion at a convenience store near the West Virginia Turnpike.
“I’m sure [the families] can use it,” Delegate Melvin Kessler, D-Raleigh, said previously.
The legislation has an effective date of Jan. 1, 2007, meaning the families of Dorsey and Burroughs, along with survivors of Kanawha County paramedic Tennille Davis, could be eligible for the benefit.
Passed on a 97-0-2 vote, the bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.