Insurance Doesn't Cover Firefighter's Fall
A volunteer firefighter finds out the hard way that his department's insurance isn't up to snuff (from the Columbian News).
Jones, 27, was stringing lights on the tree next to Yacolt Town Hall when he unhooked his safety line to move to another part of the tree. He slipped and fell 30 feet, hitting several branches on the way down. He suffered a partially collapsed lung and a compression fracture in his spine.It was the most physically painful experience of his life.
It's also been painful for Ben Peeler, a captain at the fire district who thought the insurance purchased from the Washington Board for Volunteer Fire Fighters and Reserve Officers would help defray the medical bills.
What he found out was the policy does not cover "social activities."
This is an important issue for volunteer departments, especially in small, rural towns. Does your city or department carry insurance that covers all of your activities?
Comments
That's one of the reasons many VFD's call all of their activities a training excercise of some sort. I know it flirts with the policy language, but, ropes, safety harnesses etc.. are all legitimate components of the training!
-Bill
Posted by: bill at January 2, 2006 11:09 AM
