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Our firefighters -- especially our volunteer firefighters -- are willing to bear extraordinary risks to keep our communities and neighborhoods safe.
As we have editorialized before, we believe every community -- every municipality and county and our state government as well -- should relentlessly seek ways of supporting them and their efforts.
For this, we are grateful for state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township, who has diligently sought to make firefighting safer for these heroes.
Legislation sponsored by Yaw to ban the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from fire-suppressing foams has passed the state Senate and awaits action in the state House.
"Compared to other emergency responders, firefighters can face significantly higher levels of PFAS exposure, putting them on the front lines of this national public health challenge," Yaw said, according to the article in Friday's edition of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. "This bill is a commonsense response which has already been adopted by many states. It will undoubtedly protect firefighters moving forward, while also safeguarding our ground and surface water from contamination."
Firefighting already is dangerous work -- dangerous but absolutely vital. Yaw's proposal would make their bravery a little safer, at least, from long-term adverse effects. We hope the state House reviews and passes Yaw's legislation soon and we believe Gov. Josh Shapiro should sign it into law.