2nd Meeting on Benefits for Arizona Fire Survivors Set

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An Arizona legislative committee charged with figuring out how to pay survivor benefits to part-time Prescott firefighters killed in June is set to meet Tuesday.

The House Public Safety, Military and Regulatory Affairs Committee meeting comes a month after Speaker Andy Tobin urged members to quickly craft a plan to pay full survivor and other benefits to the 13 part-time firefighters.

A set of three memorial boards dedicated to the 19 fallen Granite Mountain Hotshots has been posted at the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Overlook, established adjacent to Hwy 89 in Yarnell. Credit: SWIMT

They were among 19 killed June 30 in the Yarnell Hill wildfire.

The committee also is trying to figure out how to legally cover some of the other costs of the fire, including a $5.2 million payment to the state’s public safety retirement system owed by Prescott.

The city was hit with the bill after the state system had to pay survivors death benefits.