New state law will make `life a lot easier' for firefighter's family

Racine Journal Times

RACINE - Gov. Jim Doyle signed four bills into law Tuesday before an audience gathered in the engine bay at Racine's Fire Station No. 1.

Three of the four bills he signed are designed to assist and honor Wisconsin firefighters, law enforcement agents and their families.

"We are not going to allow the lesson of Sept. 11, 2001, to fade away," Doyle said. "It is a real test for states to remember that lesson. We have to renew that commitment over and over."

Doyle signed Senate Bill 414, a bill that provides free tuition to state technical colleges and universities to surviving spouses and children of firefighters, law enforcement officer and other public service employees who sustained injuries on the job and who later died from those injuries.

Until Tuesday, state law limited educational benefits to surviving spouses and their families only if those employees died in the line of duty.

Senate Bill 414 will assist the family of Brian Sanders, a lieutenant with the Racine Fire Department who later died from an illness that resulted from his service as a firefighter.

Sanders was diagnosed in May 2003 with Stage IV of malignant melanoma, an aggressive form of cancer.

He retired at age 46 under the Wisconsin Cancer Presumption Bill, a bill that presumes firefighters develop cancer while on the job as a result of exposure to chemical hazards associated with fire fighting.

Sanders died in June 2004 after a yearlong fight with brain cancer, leaving behind his wife, Linda, daughter, Shannon, and son, Connor.

"There are not enough words to express how grateful we are for everyone who has helped us," Linda Sanders said. "(The bill) makes life a lot easier for me and my family."

The bill comes at the right time for the Sanders family, who will be the first to qualify under the new bill, as Shannon Sanders prepares for her first year of college later this year.

Steve Hansen, interim fire chief, felt Racine's fire department played a significant role in supporting and developing the legislation Doyle signed Tuesday.

"The firefighters' union played a big part in making this happen," he said. "It was the grassroots efforts of the firefighters that made this all possible."

Doyle also signed two other bills into law pertaining to public service employees.

Assembly Bill 849 increases the eligibility for election to the board of local police and firefighter relief associations by extending eligibility to retirees and those who left departments because of a service-related disability.

Senate Bill 453 will allow taxpayers to support the construction, improvement and maintenance of the Wisconsin Firefighters Memorial in Wisconsin Rapids by providing a voluntary check-box donation form on state tax forms.

Doyle also signed Senate Bill 386, a bill protecting child passenger safety technicians who properly perform their services from civil liability lawsuits.