State Senator Cristina Castro advanced a plan to give more transparency in firefighter death records.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to partner with firefighters across Illinois on legislation that would improve our service to first responders,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “We owe it to the firefighters who gave their lives in service to their communities.”

Nearly 2,000 firefighters have died in the line of duty over the past 20 years, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. In addition to injuries and deaths that occur in the line of duty, firefighters are at a higher risk of cancer and other illnesses – highlighting the need for state-level data to guide interventions that protect their health and safety.

Castro’s legislation would require the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal to track and record the cause of death for all firefighters in Illinois, including those who died by suicide and from fire service-related cancers. Doing so aims to improve firefighter safety, foster transparency for loved ones, and ultimately help the OSFM develop recommendations to prevent further deaths and injuries of these vital first responders.

“Our firefighters have an extremely dangerous job, a job that we have sworn to sacrifice our life for. Sometimes that death happens on an emergency or training and other times it occurs because of the cumulative, long-term effects of firefighting,” said Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois President Chuck Sullivan. “Thanks to Senator Castro’s leadership, this initiative will allow the state to better understand and track the multiple and various causes of death in our profession and allow us to study what we can begin to do better and safer.”

Senate Bill 1446 passed the Senate Wednesday with bipartisan support.