By Bob Katzen

The House, on a voice vote without a roll call, gave initial approval to a bill that would ensure that firefighters who become full-time can receive creditable service for their time as call firefighters, or part-time firefighters, regardless of what fire department they worked at.

The office of Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield) who is currently on an active duty deployment with the Massachusetts National Guard, told Beacon Hill Roll Call, “The bill creates parity between our dedicated first responder professions as currently local law enforcement officers can purchase similar time from any department and are not restricted to the same standards as call firefighters currently are.”