When New Jersey Stood Up for Volunteer Firefighters

Firefighters protect our communities and respond to calls for help, even when it puts their safety at risk. If a firefighter gets hurt in the line of duty they should be taken care of, but before 2019, that wasn’t always guaranteed for the thousands of volunteer firefighters who serve New Jersey.

That changed with Kocanowski v. Township of Bridgewater. The New Jersey Supreme Court made it clear, when volunteer firefighters are injured protecting their community, they are entitled to the maximum workers’ compensation benefits available under the law, even if they didn’t have a paying job at the time of the injury.

Before Kocanowski, the system could treat two firefighters very differently. If both were injured but only one had been currently employed outside the firehouse, the employed firefighter could receive full wage replacement benefits, while the unemployed firefighter could receive little or nothing. Same sacrifice, same injury, totally different outcome.

That wasn’t just unfair—it was dangerous to the volunteer system New Jersey depends on.

What the Case Was About

Volunteer firefighters don’t get paid for responding to emergencies. But under New Jersey law, they are still covered by workers’ compensation when they’re injured in the line of duty. The question in Kocanowski was whether a volunteer firefighter is entitled to temporary disability benefits if they are not receiving wages at the time of their injury.

Township lawyers argued that if you weren’t earning wages when you got hurt, your lost income benefit should be zero. Zero… while recovering from injuries suffered protecting and ensuring the safety of your community.

The Supreme Court rejected that approach. It looked at the statute, N.J.S.A. 34:15-75, and recognized what the legislature intended. The law exists to protect volunteer first responders, not abandon them because they’re between jobs, retired, students, caregivers, or in any other life circumstance where they aren’t drawing traditional wages at that moment.

So the Court held that volunteer firefighters injured in the line of duty are entitled to the maximum compensation rate, period. Not based on whether they punched a timecard last week, but based on the value of the service they provide to the public.

Why This Matters

New Jersey has thousands of volunteer firefighters. Without them, emergency response as we know it doesn’t function. Their service is the backbone of public safety in many communities, from suburban departments to rural towns where their response is essential.

Before Kocanowski, the ambiguity in the law created a problem for our volunteers: serve your community at your own financial risk. If you happened to be unemployed when you rushed into a burning building, you might be left with nothing if you got hurt doing it.

Think about what that could do to recruitment, retention, and morale. Think about what it means for families whose parent or spouse volunteers out of duty and pride, not for compensation.

The Court brought the law back into alignment. It said what most New Jerseyans would say if asked on the street: if you risk your life for your neighbors, we stand behind you if you get hurt.

How It Impacts Your Life

People sometimes forget what workers’ compensation really is. It isn’t a bonus check. It’s a lifeline. It pays medical bills. It replaces wages so a family doesn’t lose their home or go into debt while someone heals.

Denying those benefits to an injured volunteer firefighter because they didn’t have a second job at the time doesn’t just break with legislative intent, it breaks trust. It tells someone whose service is literally life-saving that their value depends on whether they also hold a private-sector job. Volunteer firefighting doesn’t stop because life changes. And the law can’t either.

That’s not how we treat people who run toward danger.

Looking Ahead

Kocanowski was rightly hailed as a victory for fairness and public safety. Municipalities and carriers must follow the law, and volunteer fire departments should ensure members know their rights.

We should also take the decision as a call to continue modernizing support for volunteer responders, mental-health resources, disability protections, training reimbursements, and benefits that recognize the evolving reality of emergency service.

Our statewide volunteer firefighting network works because it runs on community spirit and courage. That spirit is strong, but it can be undermined if the legal system fails to support it.

A Promise Honored

Kocanowski honored an old promise, that those who protect us deserve protection in return. And that “volunteer” means they don’t get a paycheck, not that they forfeit dignity, security, or respect.

When a firefighter, paid or volunteer, answers a call, there’s no time to check employment paperwork. The law shouldn’t check it afterwards. New Jersey’s Supreme Court made sure it doesn’t. And for that, the state’s firefighters and its residents are safer, stronger, and better protected.

George Morton is a trial attorney with The Epstein Law Firm, focused on personal injury and workers’ compensation matters for injured New Jersey residents and first responders.