Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 661 - Public Safety Department › Chapter 291 - Volunteer Emergency Services Provider Death Benefits › Rule 661-291.2 - Eligibility

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
The beneficiary of a volunteer emergency services provider who
				is killed in the line of duty is eligible for a lump-sum payment of $ 100,000
				from the volunteer emergency services provider death benefit program, provided
				that application is made to the program in accordance with requirements
				established in this chapter and all eligibility criteria are satisfied.
(1)
Application.
Application
			 forms for the volunteer emergency services provider death benefit program may
			 be obtained on request from the fire marshal division. The fire marshal may
			 accept a legible copy of a completed application for the federal Public Safety
			 Officers' Benefits Program as an application for payment of benefits from the
			 volunteer emergency services provider death benefit program. Completed
			 application forms shall be mailed or delivered to the Volunteer Emergency
			 Services Provider Death Benefit Program, Fire Marshal Division, Department of
			 Public Safety, State Public Safety Headquarters Building, 215 East 7th Street,
			 Des Moines, Iowa 50319. A completed application form shall be accompanied by a
			 letter from the chief or other responsible supervisory official of the
			 department in which the volunteer emergency services provider was serving at
			 the time of the line-of-duty death, certifying that the death of the volunteer
			 was the direct and proximate result of a traumatic personal injury incurred in
			 the line of duty as a volunteer. Any evidence or proof available to the chief
			 or responsible supervisory official to support the claim shall accompany the
			 letter.
(2)
Definitions.
The following definitions apply to the volunteer
			 emergency services provider death benefit program.
"Beneficiary"
means the surviving spouse of
				the volunteer emergency services provider who died in the line of duty. If
				there is no surviving spouse, and there is a surviving child or surviving
				children of the volunteer emergency services provider, then "beneficiary" means
				the surviving child of the member. If there is more than one surviving child,
				the children are cobeneficiaries who shall share equally in the lump-sum
				payment of the death benefit. If there is no surviving spouse or child of the
				volunteer emergency services provider, "beneficiary" means the surviving father
				or mother of the volunteer emergency services provider if either or both
				survives at the time of the line-of-duty death of the volunteer emergency
				services provider. If both the mother and father of the volunteer emergency
				services provider survive at the time of the line-of-duty death of the
				volunteer emergency services provider, then the father and mother are
				cobeneficiaries who shall share equally in the lump-sum payment. If there is no
				surviving spouse, child, or parent at the time of the line-of-duty death of the
				volunteer emergency services provider, then "beneficiary" means the estate of
				the deceased volunteer emergency services provider.
"Line-of-duty death "
means the death of a
				volunteer emergency services provider which was the direct and proximate result
				of a traumatic personal injury incurred in the line of duty as a volunteer. The
				death is not a line-of-duty death if any of the following apply:
1. The death resulted from stress, strain,
			 occupational illness, or a chronic, progressive, or congenital illness
			 including, but not limited to, a disease of the heart, lungs, or respiratory
			 system, unless a traumatic personal injury was a substantial contributing
			 factor to the volunteer emergency services provider's death.
However, if the death was the direct and proximate result of a
				heart attack or stroke, the volunteer emergency services provider shall be
				presumed to have died as a result of a traumatic personal injury if the
				provider engaged in a nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity
				within the scope of the provider's duties and the death resulted while engaging
				in that activity, while still on duty after engaging in that activity, or not
				later than 24 hours after engaging in that activity, and the presumption is not
				overcome by competent medical evidence to the contrary. For purposes of this
				paragraph, "nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity" includes, but
				is not limited to, nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical law enforcement,
				fire suppression, rescue, hazardous material response, emergency medical
				services, prison security, disaster relief, emergency response, and training
				exercise activities. "Nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity" does
				not include activities of a clerical, administrative, or nonmanual
				nature.
2. The death was
			 caused by the intentional misconduct of the volunteer emergency services
			 provider or by such provider's intent to cause the provider's own
			 death.
3. The volunteer emergency
			 services provider was voluntarily intoxicated at the time of death.
4. The volunteer emergency services provider
			 was performing the provider's duties in a grossly negligent manner at the time
			 of death.
5. A beneficiary who
			 would otherwise be entitled to a benefit under this chapter was, through the
			 beneficiary's actions, a substantial contributing factor to the volunteer
			 emergency services provider's death.
[Editorial change: IAC Supplement 6/17/09]