Leaders from the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Volunteer Fire Council called for the Department of Justice to begin awarding Public Safety Officer's Benefits.

PSOB is a one-time payment of nearly $300,000 to the families of fallen public safety officers. The Hometown Heroes Act, which became law in 2003, was supposed to make it possible for those who die from heart attack or stroke caused by participation in emergency response to qualify for the program. DOJ has made seven awards, denied 47 claims and has 199 claims pending.

“From the language of the law to the clearly expressed intent of Congress, DOJ should be paying benefits in cases where a public safety officer died from heart attack or stroke within 24 hours of participating in emergency response,” said NVFC Chairman Philip Stittleburg. “DOJ needs to start making these payments today.…”

IAFC President Jim Harmes called on Congress to conduct hearings and ask “why has the DOJ taken so long to decide these claims and left the families of America's fallen heroes without the benefits granted to them by law?”

DOJ's justification is that emergency response doesn't necessarily constitute “nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical” activity, according to the NVFC. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine appears to contradict this, finding that firefighters are at an extremely heightened risk of suffering a heart attack during fire suppression, alarm response and return.

“DOJ has been determining on a case-by-case basis whether or not the emergency response described in a PSOB application passes some illusory litmus test,” said Stittleburg. “This puts tremendous pressure on public safety agencies to create a detailed narrative of the deceased officer's activities that accurately conveys the physical and emotional strain of emergency response.”