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Firefighters press committee to advance bills recognizing Parkinson’s as an occupational disease and grant disability retirement
Summary
Firefighters, union leaders and chiefs testified in support of multiple bills that would grant line-of-duty or disability retirement benefits to firefighters diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, citing research and specific toxic incidents (Home Depot 1995, MWRA 2016) and local approvals; committees did not vote.
Representatives of firefighter unions, city retirement boards and affected retirees urged the Joint Committee on Public Service on May 7 to advance multiple bills recognizing Parkinson’s disease as connected to firefighting exposures and to grant disability or retirement benefits to named retirees.
Testimony covered House Bill 3,963 and Senate Bill 19‑19 for former Westfield firefighter Greg Heath and House Bill 2,775 for Quincy firefighter Kevin Bythrow, among other local petitions. Union legislative agent Paul Jacques and Local 1111 leaders described submitted peer‑reviewed studies and a 2021 Massachusetts survey finding elevated Parkinson’s symptoms among firefighters, and they asked the committee to “cross the finish line” on bills that reached third reading in prior sessions but did not become law.
Greg Heath, who is diagnosed with Parkinson’s, appeared virtually and asked the committee to allow Westfield to grant him disability retirement under local and state rules; Westfield’s municipal leaders, retirement board and the Westfield Firefighters union submitted supporting written testimony. Clark Robinson, president of Westfield Firefighters Local 1111, and Michael Fahey, the local’s vice president, described Heath’s 24‑year career and said scientific literature supports a causal link between firefighting exposures and Parkinson’s.
Kevin Bythrow, a retired Quincy deputy chief who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after a 34‑year career, detailed specific toxic incidents recorded in Quincy fire reports. Testimony identified two major local incidents that included hazardous chemical combustion: a 1995 Home Depot fire and a January 25, 2016 fire at a MWRA water treatment facility. Witnesses said those incidents exposed firefighters to chlorine, pesticides, sodium hypochlorite and other byproducts; city records and local legislation (Quincy special legislation in 2018) document government action to address exposures after those incidents. Bythrow described the rapid onset and severe health decline following retirement and cited a Boston neurologist’s assessment attributing his Parkinson’s to toxic inhalation during firefighting.
Speakers asked the committee to report the bills favorably. Committee members acknowledged the testimony and noted prior progress on similar bills; no committee votes were recorded during the hearing.
