Gov. Little honors fallen Idaho firefighters and police, signs bill increasing support for their families
David Pace
Gov. Brad Little honors fallen firefighters and police officers Tuesday in Boise.
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho is boosting its support for families of public safety officials who are killed or catastrophically injured in the line of duty.
“These events really never get easier,” said Gov. Brad Little. “But that’s all right. We are here to remember people.”
Less than one year ago, two Idaho firefighters were killed on Canfield Mountain, and others seriously injured when they were ambushed while responding to a fire in Coeur d’Alene.
Gov. Brad Little signed a new law today providing additional benefits to the families of Idaho public safety officers who are killed or severely injured in the line of duty.
Family members of multiple fallen public safety officers attended the ceremony.
The Governor affixed his signature to House Bill 642 at the five-acre Idaho Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park in Boise.
“We are here to remember people, and in this particular piece of legislation – their families – [at] this hallowed piece of real estate here, where we remember those people that have sacrificed in the past,” Little said. “But more importantly, [we honor] the people that put their lives on the line every day.”
The law covers police and firefighters and ensures that the “spouse of a public safety officer who sustained a catastrophic injury that results in death” will receive a $75,000 annual pension and a one-time $500,000 payment.
If there is no surviving spouse, the one-time payment will be distributed evenly among the officer’s dependent children.
“Today’s bill signing represents an important step forward for Idaho’s public safety officers and their community,” said Professional Firefighters of Idaho Vice President Matthew Smith. “House Bill 642 addresses the gap between catastrophic line of duty injury and catastrophic line of duty death benefits for public safety officers. This legislation helps correct that imbalance and provides meaningful support and peace to the families who have given everything in service of Idaho and their people.”
The bill passed the Idaho Legislature with unanimous support.
The benefit will be funded by public safety officer pension contributions. Each employee will pay $110 every year per $100,000 in annual earnings.
“It reflects a simple but powerful commitment that when tragedy strikes, those left behind will not stand alone,” Smith said. “This legislation ensures their legacy will endure. It stands as a lasting promise written into law that their families will be cared for and that we as a community, as a brotherhood and sisterhood, will continue to stand together in their memory and in their honor.”