EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – A bill that started by an Evansville firefighter is moving up at the statehouse.
The bill, proposed by State Lawmaker Tim O’Brien, was inspired when a local firefighter was attacked on a medical run in 2022. The firefighter was scared of being attacked again and requested his address to be withheld from public records. He was denied because Indiana law doesn’t consider firefighters to be covered persons.
The bill would change that by preventing firefighter’s names and addresses from being disclosed to the general public.
“As the waters rise, where violence continues to happen at more and more incidents around the country, firefighters are facing a lot of the same risks that law enforcement officers face,” says Evansville Fire Department Chief, Mike Connelly. “So, it stands to reason that firefighters and police officers should be included on that list and this bill added firefighters to that list.”
The bill will now head to the house to be considered.
