Some 439 miles down. As of Tuesday morning: 250 miles to go.
That’s the progress — and the plan — for a retired firefighter walking the length of Florida to bring attention to essential legislation designed to help firefighters battle Cancer.
Tom ‘Bull’ Hill, a 30-year veteran of the Orange County Fire Department, began his public awareness campaign soon after two firefighters, both close friends, died at an early age due to work-related Cancer.
“One said to me that he ‘was ashamed to be firefighter in Florida’,” said Hill. “He knew he would be leaving his family without benefits.”
Firefighters across the State believe that they have contracted the often-terminal disease because of their on-the-job contact with hazardous Cancer-causing materials.
Hill, age 58, started the trek on March 20, and walks about 16 miles a day, six days a week. He stays overnight at host fire stations and then continues early the next morning. He and his traveling support team expect to reach Tallahassee on May 11. Along the way, his fellow firefighters and law enforcement officers accompany him.
Monday’s stopover was at Lady Lake’s Fire Rescue Station 52.
“On his ‘March of the Bull,’ Hill meets with the public and media representatives,” said Eric Williamson, a Villages firefighter. “He wants them to urge the State Legislature to pass critical legislation that will ‘shift the burden of proof’ from firefighters to their employers, such as municipalities and then will provide financial support for them and their families.”
Firefighters are twice as likely as the general public to die from cancer.
“Firefighters in Florida, who contact various types of cancers, do not receive the same benefits as firefighters in 39 other states,” Hill told the firefighter from Lady Lake and surrounding communities.
“I started from Key West with nothing except a desire to walk on behalf of firefighters. Now, others and I proudly carry backpacks loaded with more than 600 keepsakes, from helmet shields, department patches, to pictures and small dolls, given to me by wives now widows and fathers who lost their sons,” he said. “They all wanted their loved ones to be a part of my walk.”
Hill encourages everyone to sign an on-line petition at bit.ly/bullsmarch that will help convince the State’s senators and representatives to pass legislation this year — legislation that has been previously blocked by ‘special interests.’
The petition describes firefighters’ plight in addition to their fight against Cancer.
“Even if their health insurance covers the disease, the financial burden overwhelms most men and women, who are paid modest salaries to protect us, while the disease’s lasting effects often leave them without a job or the ability to provide for their families, that is, providing they survive,” Hill continued.
Three firefighters, Paul Cernuda and Adam Parks of Miami-Dade’s Department and Kiel Silvia with the City of Miami, had walked with Hill from Key Largo to Fort Lauderdale. Yesterday, they had joined him for his Central Florida portion.
“This march has the support of the Florida Professional Firefighters. The union has been working with Miami-Dade State Senator Anitere Flores, the legislation’s sponsor,” explained Cernuda. “The bill recognizes that some cancers are job-related. It caps claims at only $100,000, paid by the municipality, which provides firefighters with a form of ‘gap’ insurance, and ensures that they can keep their jobs if and when they are able to return to work.”
At last count 22,764 Floridians have endorsed the petition. Hill’s goal: a minimum of 50,000 signatures.
Another ‘escort’ was Amy Morton, who had retired from Orange County’s Fire Rescue with 25 years of service.
“I’m walking for my brother and sister firefighters,” she said on ‘day 11 on the trail.’ “The walking is easy. Making changes in Tallahassee is what’s hard.”
