Senator Coons named honorary chair of the CVVFA Emergency Responders Safety Institute

WILMINGTON — 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 in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

“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 from the Mid-Atlantic region 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 cosponsor 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 cosponsored, 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.

Created as a committee of the 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.

To learn more about the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association’s Emergency Responder Safety Institute, click here: http://www.respondersafety.com/AboutUs.aspx.

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