Post by AC9A on Mar 30, 2006 11:14:22 GMT -5
Pennsylvania Teen, True Firefighter, Court Rules
Updated: 03-30-2006 10:08:43 AM
Jeff Price, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
Mar. 30--"He was a firefighter!"
Christopher Kangas' mother can say that now and have it mean something -- legally.
Until this week, the U.S. Justice Department had denied the 14-year-old junior firefighter that proud title, literally devaluing the life of the Brookhaven boy who was struck and killed four years ago by a car while riding his bicycle to answer a fire alarm.
Without the title, he was not eligible for federal death benefits, and, most important to his mother and his fellow firefighters, not eligible to have his name inscribed on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
But Monday, after years of hearings and appeals, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Marian Blank Horn said, in effect, he deserved to be treated better.
"Christopher Kangas died 'in the line of duty' and was a 'firefighter' authorized to be at a fire scene and perform duties as part of a team engaged in the 'suppression of fires' at the time of his death," she wrote in Washington.
Kangas' mother, Julie Amber-Messick, did not try to hide her joy.
"I'm in shock," she said yesterday, reading again the judge's decision. "I keep looking at that paragraph, that he was a firefighter, that he was a member of a team -- we were right!
"Me and Chris, versus the United States," she laughed, trying to put it all in perspective. "That's funny."
The Justice Department had maintained that because Kangas, an eighth grader at Northley Middle School, was a junior firefighter, he was only a trainee and did not qualify as a public safety officer.
Justice has 60 days to file a challenge, but Amber-Messick said Brookhaven fire officials and her attorney, Frank W. Daly, of Media, were optimistic no appeal would be pursued.
Linda Eschbach, a paralegal with Daly's firm, concurred, saying Judge Horn's finding was strong.
Rep. Curt Weldon (R., Pa.), who has championed Kangas' cause from the beginning, immediately took steps to buttress the outcome. Yesterday, Weldon said he was introducing a congressional resolution to "urge the Justice Department not to appeal."
Weldon has also introduced a bill "to expand the definition of a firefighter to include apprentices and trainees, regardless of age or duty limitations."
A call to the Justice Department was not returned.
"The future of America's fire service is in young people like Christopher Kangas," Weldon said in a statement, "and we cannot let them be forgotten."
Philip C. Stittleburg, chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council, seconded Weldon: "When Christopher Kangas responded to a fire call and died tragically as a result, he was no different than any of the more than 100 firefighters who die each year risking their lives to protect lives and property of others."
And that is what particularly angered members of Brookhaven Fire Company No. 52 about the Justice Department's denial of the family's claim. The department's logic left the bitter impression that because Kangas, as a junior firefighter, could not go into burning buildings, his contribution and, therefore, his death were somehow worth something less.
"It's been such a long haul for us," said Brookhaven Fire Chief Rob Montella. "We're so excited.
"The ruling said he was part of a team in fighting fires, and that is so true."
The fire company wasted no time in putting up its own memorial. Just days after Kangas' death on May 4, 2002, firefighters mounted a 5-foot-wide, 8-foot-tall wooden case in the firehouse. On exhibit were pictures of Kangas in his gear at the station and in parades. His helmet and fire coat are there, as well as some youthful icons -- the cans of Pepsi and packs of chewing gum he loved.
Now, the nation can honor Kangas, too.
If the Justice Department does not appeal, or if the ruling is upheld, Kangas' name will go up on the fallen firefighters monument in Emmitsburg, Md., and his family will qualify for a $250,000 benefit.
"Money is great," Amber-Messick said, "but it is not the point. The point is to let these dedicated kids know what they are doing is worthwhile and that they are just as important as they feel."
Contact staff writer Jeff Price at 610-313-8124 or jprice@phillynews.com.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
Updated: 03-30-2006 10:08:43 AM
Jeff Price, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
Mar. 30--"He was a firefighter!"
Christopher Kangas' mother can say that now and have it mean something -- legally.
Until this week, the U.S. Justice Department had denied the 14-year-old junior firefighter that proud title, literally devaluing the life of the Brookhaven boy who was struck and killed four years ago by a car while riding his bicycle to answer a fire alarm.
Without the title, he was not eligible for federal death benefits, and, most important to his mother and his fellow firefighters, not eligible to have his name inscribed on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
But Monday, after years of hearings and appeals, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Marian Blank Horn said, in effect, he deserved to be treated better.
"Christopher Kangas died 'in the line of duty' and was a 'firefighter' authorized to be at a fire scene and perform duties as part of a team engaged in the 'suppression of fires' at the time of his death," she wrote in Washington.
Kangas' mother, Julie Amber-Messick, did not try to hide her joy.
"I'm in shock," she said yesterday, reading again the judge's decision. "I keep looking at that paragraph, that he was a firefighter, that he was a member of a team -- we were right!
"Me and Chris, versus the United States," she laughed, trying to put it all in perspective. "That's funny."
The Justice Department had maintained that because Kangas, an eighth grader at Northley Middle School, was a junior firefighter, he was only a trainee and did not qualify as a public safety officer.
Justice has 60 days to file a challenge, but Amber-Messick said Brookhaven fire officials and her attorney, Frank W. Daly, of Media, were optimistic no appeal would be pursued.
Linda Eschbach, a paralegal with Daly's firm, concurred, saying Judge Horn's finding was strong.
Rep. Curt Weldon (R., Pa.), who has championed Kangas' cause from the beginning, immediately took steps to buttress the outcome. Yesterday, Weldon said he was introducing a congressional resolution to "urge the Justice Department not to appeal."
Weldon has also introduced a bill "to expand the definition of a firefighter to include apprentices and trainees, regardless of age or duty limitations."
A call to the Justice Department was not returned.
"The future of America's fire service is in young people like Christopher Kangas," Weldon said in a statement, "and we cannot let them be forgotten."
Philip C. Stittleburg, chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council, seconded Weldon: "When Christopher Kangas responded to a fire call and died tragically as a result, he was no different than any of the more than 100 firefighters who die each year risking their lives to protect lives and property of others."
And that is what particularly angered members of Brookhaven Fire Company No. 52 about the Justice Department's denial of the family's claim. The department's logic left the bitter impression that because Kangas, as a junior firefighter, could not go into burning buildings, his contribution and, therefore, his death were somehow worth something less.
"It's been such a long haul for us," said Brookhaven Fire Chief Rob Montella. "We're so excited.
"The ruling said he was part of a team in fighting fires, and that is so true."
The fire company wasted no time in putting up its own memorial. Just days after Kangas' death on May 4, 2002, firefighters mounted a 5-foot-wide, 8-foot-tall wooden case in the firehouse. On exhibit were pictures of Kangas in his gear at the station and in parades. His helmet and fire coat are there, as well as some youthful icons -- the cans of Pepsi and packs of chewing gum he loved.
Now, the nation can honor Kangas, too.
If the Justice Department does not appeal, or if the ruling is upheld, Kangas' name will go up on the fallen firefighters monument in Emmitsburg, Md., and his family will qualify for a $250,000 benefit.
"Money is great," Amber-Messick said, "but it is not the point. The point is to let these dedicated kids know what they are doing is worthwhile and that they are just as important as they feel."
Contact staff writer Jeff Price at 610-313-8124 or jprice@phillynews.com.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
