Bill proposed to allow VFDs to use relief funds for utility bills
Volunteer fire companies would be allowed to use fire relief funds to pay basic utility costs under a bill introduced by state Rep. Pam Snyder.
House Bill 698 would permit fire relief funds to pay gas, electric, water and sewage bills, according to a statement from Snyder on Friday.
“Our brave volunteers deserve to focus on saving our lives and properties and not worrying about how to pay for the heating and lighting at the fire station,” Snyder, D-Jefferson Hills, said in the statement.
Snyder’s bill was referred to the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. Co-sponsors from southwest Pennsylvania include state Rep. Rob Matzie, D-Ambridge, Beaver County; state Rep. Anita Kulik, D-Kennedy Township, Allegheny County; state Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane Township; and state Rep. Chris Sainato, D-Union Township, Lawrence County.
Under current law, volunteer fire relief associations can pay for training, gear and apparatus, but not utilities, Snyder said. Relief association volunteers are “working selflessly behind the scenes” and should be allowed to pay station utility costs, she said.
“Helping to pay for basic utility expenses will free our first responders from having to raise funds just to keep the lights on at the station,” Snyder said. “The volunteers sacrifice so much to keep us safe, and they deserve to be spared this expense whenever possible.”
Snyder also noted that the ranks of volunteer firefighters in Pennsylvania have shrunk from an estimated 300,000 in the 1970s to about 50,000 today. “Whenever and wherever possible, we must find ways to bolster their ranks,” she said.
Snyder is also co-sponsoring House Bill 48 by state Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria County, which creates a college scholarship program for volunteer first responders.