Nov. 22, 2019
HARRISBURG – State Rep. Tommy Sankey (R-Clearfield/Cambria) is glad to see an important segment of emergency responder training enter the 21st century.
“We can purchase nearly anything we want online, but we couldn’t find a way to use the internet that benefits the men and women who provide an extremely vital service to our communities…until now,” Sankey said.
Sankey is referring to legislation that would create an online training program for Pennsylvania firefighters. Senate Bill 146, which has been approved in both the state House and Senate, is sitting on Gov. Tom Wolf‘s desk, awaiting his signature into law.
“Our school children are doing their homework assignments online, and there’s no good reason why both our volunteer and career firefighters shouldn’t be able to do the same thing with the ‘book’ portion of their training,” added Sankey. “When this bill becomes law, it will be a real gift to fire companies in rural areas who would no longer have to travel long distances to accomplish what could be done from home on a laptop computer.”
Senate Bill 146 is part of “Helpers and Heroes,” a legislative endeavor led by House Republicans in response to the Senate Resolution 6 Commission’s report on ways to improve recruitment and retention of emergency services personnel. The package of legislation is made up of 15 additional bills, all of which have passed the House and are sitting with the Senate.
Questions about this or any state government issue should be directed to Sankey’s Cambria County office at 814-247-6210 or his Clearfield office at 814-765-0609.
Representative Tommy Sankey
73rd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
slittle@pahousegop.com
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