Rep. reexamines term ‘on duty’

Just over three weeks ago on a foggy December night in Shoreham, Vt., volunteer firefighter Peter Coe was driving with his family when he saw a car stuck in a ditch. He pulled over to the side of the road and began to extricate a person from the car.

At that moment, a truck driver in a Chevrolet pickup came over a hill and saw Coe’s headlights a second too late. The truck swerved out of control and struck Coe, taking his life.

Because Coe did not fall under the current definition of “on duty” at the time of his death, it is unclear whether his family will receive monetary benefits for losing a family member during service. Many Vermonters have become outraged that his family might not receive benefits because Coe was performing a firefighter’s service at the time of his death.

State representative William Stevens recently took special interest in the case and began drafting a bill to expand what it means to be “on duty” as a volunteer firefighter. He will introduce the bill, however, only if authority figures close to the matter feel it would benefit Coe or other firefighters in the future.

“I would defer to the fire department chief and the town’s attorney,” Stevens said.

“I want to do what is right, but only if it’s appropriate.”

The town has hired an attorney to look after the family’s interests with regards to monetary benefits. As a parallel track, Stevens is hoping to introduce a bill that will ensure that a firefighter’s family receives compensation if a similar situation arises in the future.

“I thought I would look into what, if any, legislation might be needed that would ensure that the next family would be able to qualify, even if [Coe’s] doesn’t,” Stevens said.

Currently, state legislature defines the law so that those whose immediate relatives die in the line of duty will qualify to receive monetary benefits.

“But what constitutes ‘line of duty?’” Stevens questioned, “It looks a little narrow to me.”

Stevens communicated a belief that a firefighter is on duty for many more hours than he is on duty under the current definition. Stevens noted that because he was a volunteer firefighter, it was not as if he had clear-cut shifts when he was on or off duty.

“Where it gets hairy is when you ask the question, ‘when is a volunteer firefighter not on duty?’” Stevens remarked.

“My answer is, they are always on duty.”

Jim Ortuno, a colleague of Coe’s and the first firefighter on the scene after Coe’s accident, expressed similar beliefs about the matter.

“We are on duty as soon as we step out of the car,” Ortuno said.

“We are on duty 24/7.”

Although Stevens wants to take action, he is worried that introducing the bill will work against the cause and ultimately facilitate the insurance company in denying Coe’s family monetary benefits.

“It might give ammunition to the insurance company,” Stevens said.

Stevens worries that the insurance company will read the bill and will intentionally deny monetary benefits to Coe’s family in retaliation.

Stevens has also heard concerns that the bill will encourage firefighters to skip protocol.

“While everyone agrees on principle that [Coe] and his family should be compensated, some didn’t want to change things in terms of the implications of protocol,” Stevens said.

Ortuno, however, mentioned that in Coe’s case, there had not been a protocol set up when he began to help the victim.

“The first person on the scene sets up the protocol and he was in the middle of doing that,” Ortuno said.

“He had a flashlight in his hand figuring out what needed to be done.”

The Shoreham fire station has received several letters from other fire stations across the country with condolences.

About three-quarters of firefighters across the country work as volunteers and according to Ortuno, many are watching for the insurance company’s decision on Coe’s case.

“If [the insurance company] says no, it will be a firestorm,” Ortuno said.

On a personal level, Ortuno feels that he cannot continue as a firefighter if his family will not receive monetary support in the case of his death.

“I won’t get out of my car if they won’t protect my family if something happens to me,” Ortuno said.

Both Stevens and Ortuno acknowledged that there are some volunteer firefighters who act before they think. Ortuno suggested that Coe was not one of them.

“[Coe] was the kind of person that if you were on the side of the road in trouble, you would pray for someone like him to drive by because he would stop and help,” Ortuno said.