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Governor signs bill that expands cancer coverage for firefighters

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Governor signs bill that expands cancer coverage for firefighters


The governor has signed a bill that updates the Connecticut Firefighters Cancer Relief Program.

The updates include streamlining claims so that firefighters get benefits quicker, extending benefits to state firefighters working at UConn and Bradley Airport, and adding skin cancer to the list of covered conditions.

According to research conducted by the CDC, firefighters are 1.39 times more likely to develop skin cancer.

“Skin cancer was the last major system that was not covered under the original bill,” Peter Brown, president of the Uniformed Professional Firefighters of Connecticut, said. “So everything else, across the board is, is fully covered.”

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Marisabel Barbagallo has been a firefighter in Hartford for seven years. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last January.

“I felt really just caught off guard because I just felt like I was still young,” she said.

Barbagallo was out of work for 10 months. She had three surgeries and chemotherapy. The relief program offering wage replacement benefits was established in 2023, so Barbagallo said finding treatment was not hard, but accessing the benefits was a challenge.

Now advocates are pushing the legislature to pass a bill that provides a funding stream for the Firefighter Cancer Relief Fund.

The fund has about $8 million in it now, but Brown expects more claims to come in so they want to be prepared.

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“That’s always the biggest fear we have,” Brown said. “We have over 30 claims. We don’t want to see that fund go insolvent.”

Firefighters are also working to get cancer screenings covered. Just this month, the state began providing cancer screenings to firefighters enrolled in the state employee health plan.



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Connecticut

Man arrested after stealing from Connecticut Children’s Hospital donation bin

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Man arrested after stealing from Connecticut Children’s Hospital donation bin


ENFIELD, Conn. (WFSB) – Police arrested a Connecticut man on Sunday morning after he allegedly stole bottles and cans from a Connecticut Children’s Hospital donation bin.

Officers received a call at around 8 a.m. for a report of a larceny from a “Cans For Kids” donation bin at located on Raffia Road, according to the police department.

Police said they used used local surveillance cameras and municipal license plate readers to identify a vehicle and suspect.

Officials identified the individual as Joshua Wilcox of Broad Brook

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With the help of Wethersfield police officers, Wilcox was found and detained. Enfield police arrested Wilcox and charged him with sixth-degree larceny and first-degree criminal trespass.

It was also revealed that this is the second incident involving Wilcox at the same location, police said.

No further details were released.

Eyewitness News will provide more details as soon as they become available.

Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.

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Danbury OKs expanded building plans for west side cancer center

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Danbury OKs expanded building plans for west side cancer center


“(T)he applicant is proposing a minor building addition of 1,300 square feet to the basement level because the specialized proton equipment required a slightly larger support space,” said Allie Smith, an associate planner with the city’s professional planning and zoning department.

Smith is referring to what would be the second proton therapy cancer treatment center between New York City and Boston, after the Connecticut Proton center in Wallingford, which is scheduled to open later this year.

Proton therapy is considered advanced radiation treatment because it uses the positively charged particles to “target cancer with exceptional precision,” reducing damage to nearby healthy tissue.

The expanded building plans for Danbury Proton are the latest development in a prolonged effort to serve western Connecticut and nearby New York residents with the novel cancer treatment.

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The project, which was set to break ground on a 3-acre site overlooking Danbury Municipal Airport this spring, is “very busy marketing and selling the bonds,” a spokesman said.

“We’re ready to break ground as soon as we close on the bonds,” said Drew Crandall on Friday. “We are in conversation with investors every day and we are making good progress.”

In March, Danbury’s City Council agreed to use its bonding power to help Danbury Proton get low-cost financing under a “conduit issuer” agreement. Around the same time, the city’s Planning Commission extended approvals for the project, which were scheduled to expire in July.

All that means that Danbury Proton expects to open its 17,000-square-foot facility at 85 Wooster Heights Road in late 2027 or early 2028.

“The day is coming when we will be treating patients with revolutionary proton therapy cancer treatment,” Crandall said in a newsletter to supporters last week. “Countless patients and their families will benefit from proton therapy.”

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Fire extends from attic of well-known Clinton donut shop

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Fire extends from attic of well-known Clinton donut shop


Several businesses and residents are displaced after a well-known donut shop in Clinton caught fire Saturday morning according to fire department officials.

Clinton Volunteer Fire Department officials say officers received reports of a fire at Beach Donut where they found heavy smoke and a fire extending to the attic.

They say people were evacuated while firefighters work to bring the fire under control.

One person was transported by Clinton EMS for evaluation.

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The displaced residents are being treated by the American Red Cross and the fire is still under investigation by the Clinton Fire Marshal’s Office with assistance from the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosives Investigation Unit.

The fire department received mutual aid from several fire stations and EMS from neighboring towns.

According to the Beach Donut Facebook, the business will be temporarily closed until notice.



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