Schumer: Nearly A Year After This Tragedy, This Was Simply The Right Thing To Do

Press Release

Today, The West Webster Volunteer Firemen's Association and Senator Schumer held an event to commemorate the passage of legislation to help West Webster Firefighters and families access donations made in the aftermath of last year's tragedy. In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Christmas Eve, Western New Yorkers and people from across the country showed an outpouring of generosity by donating to the WWFD in order to assist the victims. However, due to IRS Code, the West Webster Volunteer Firemen's Association was limited in its ability to distribute these funds directly to the affected victims and families, without putting at risk its tax-exempt status. The legislation, which Senator Schumer sponsored in the U.S. Senate and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter sponsored in the House of Representatives, will allow the West Webster Volunteer Firemen's Association to distribute the donations without further delay to the affected families, fulfilling the wishes of those that donated. The legislation will be signed by President Obama in the coming days.

"In the wake of the West Webster Fire Department tragedy, I was heartened by the outpouring of support from friends, neighbors and concerned citizens from across the state and country who donated to assist the families of the victims in their time of need. It is only right that the families of these brave heroes will now receive the funds that were donated on their behalf," said Schumer. "The passage of this legislation in time for the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, and in time for the holidays, was simply the right thing to do. Now that this chapter has concluded, it is our duty to remember the courageous sacrifice of the West Webster firefighters and the everyday heroes just like them, who volunteer to put themselves in danger for the protection of their friends and neighbors."

Ken Smith, President of the West Webster Volunteer Firemen's Association said, "Thank you to everyone that had a hand in making this happen. I don't know if you truly realize the impact this whole situation has had on all of us in West Webster. I have, literally, lost many nights' sleep over this. I also have, in the past, been critical of how our government operates at times. Knowing the things that had to be done within the House and Senate to make this happen has changed the way I feel about our government. The effort that Congresswoman Slaughter and Senator Schumer put forth to see it through astounds me."

Ken Smith, President of WWVFD, Senator Chuck Schumer and members of the West Webster Fire Department were at the event.

Due to IRS Code on 501(c)(3) organizations, the West Webster Fire Department was limited in its ability to distribute these funds directly to the affected victims and families, without putting at risk its tax-exempt status. Similar legislation was necessary to distribute charitable donations in the aftermath of 9/11 and an incident in 2006 that resulted in the deaths of several California firefighters.

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