Lawmakers, firefighters announce upgrades to disaster readiness and improved supports for first responders
Allegheny County Delegation November 12, 2024 | 11:42 AM
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 8 – Two years after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Pittsburgh revealed weaknesses in Pennsylvania’s disaster preparedness, state and local officials gathered Friday to announce a major upgrade to disaster readiness in Western Pennsylvania, along with recent changes in state law that will improve supports for first responders.
The news conference, which was held at the Urban Search & Rescue facility in Carnegie, featured Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington; state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny; state Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Allegheny; state Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Allegheny; state Rep. Dan Miller, D-Allegheny; Brian Kokkila, Pittsburgh Fire/Task Force Leader – PA US&R; and Ralph Sicuro, president of Pittsburgh Firefighters Local 1.
They highlighted the recently signed-into-law H.B. 843, a bill that takes a major step forward for urban search and rescue capabilities throughout western PA. With the help of Mayor Ed Gainey, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, and firefighters throughout the area, H.B. 843 was signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro last week. The new law authorizes a high-level search and rescue team in western Pennsylvania and incorporates $6 million included in the state’s budget to help build out equipment and resources.
The need for these capabilities was made clear after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, when resources had to be brought to the Pittsburgh area from Philadelphia.
In addition to highlighting the state’s new urban search and rescue capabilities, officials also discussed S.B. 365, which was also signed into law last week and is designed to help first responders deal with the challenges of workplace trauma. Under this bill, firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and paramedics are entitled to Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation benefits for psychological traumas arising from individual traumatic events or cumulative highly stressful experiences resulting from their employment, regardless of whether the trauma is accompanied by physical injuries requiring medical treatment.
Miller also talked about other improvements to local emergency services, including in Mt. Lebanon, where state grants are being used to build a fire training facility that could be used by firefighters throughout the South Hills. The municipality was recently awarded $600,000 to help build the project.