U.S. Senator Chris Coons has been selected to serve as the honorary chair of the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association's Emergency Responder Safety Institute, which serves as an advisory group committed to reducing death and injuries to emergency responders operating on the highways helping others.
The Institute was formed to address the increasing number of injuries and deaths due to secondary accidents involving fire, law enforcement, transportation and towing and recovery personnel while they provide assistance on nation's roadways. The Institute has received three national awards for its work in this important area and is recognized as a leader in highway incident scene safety.
"Growing up and living in Delaware has given me a sincere appreciation of the sacrifices our state's first responders make on a daily basis," Senator Coons said. "I am grateful to be named honorary chair of the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association's Emergency Responder Safety Institute. I look forward to working even more closely with first responders to improve the safety of our country's emergency personnel who are sadly still too often injured and killed serving our communities."
A longtime advocate for emergency responders, Senator Coons was a co-sponsor and vocal supporter of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009, which was passed in December and was signed into law in January. The bill, which was the first piece of legislation Senator Coons co-sponsored, provides federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment for responders and survivors exposed to toxins at Ground Zero – including 61 first responders from Delaware.
In his four years as County Council President and six as County Executive in New Castle County, Senator Coons fought to protect first responders and improve fire dispatch, opened a new, state of the art public safety headquarters, and supported efforts to increase the number of county police officers in the force and on patrol. Sadly during his tenure as County Executive Firefighter/EMT Michele Smith of the Delaware City Fire Company lost her life when she was struck by a hit and run driver as she treated an accident victim near New Castle.
Created as a committee of the 110 year old Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association, the Emergency Responder Safety Institute serves as an advisory group of public safety leaders and transportation experts committed to reducing deaths and injuries to America's emergency responders.