Helping emergency responders cope with the stress of their work is one of the actions being considered by the state legislature as it addresses a growing shortage of volunteer and career firefighters and EMS providers, writes Jan Murphy for the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

“How would you feel if you had a fire or an accident or a life-threatening emergency, and when you dialed 9-1-1, no one responded? These types of doomsday scenarios are not far-fetched,” said State Rep. Stephen Barrar.

Barrar chairs the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. He is sponsoring a bill that would define post-traumatic stress injury and enable first responders suffering from it to receive mental health benefits under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Law.

Currently, there are 23 bills in the state House aimed at addressing the well-being of emergency responders and offering incentives to recruit and maintain volunteers.

They include such proposals as offering tuition assistance, college loan forgiveness, property tax credits, cash incentives for length of service, and online training for firefighters.

The House is expected to consider those bills this week and in the coming weeks.

Read more about how Pennsylvania legislators are responding to a shortage of firefighters in the Harrisburg Patriot-News here.

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