Two St. Johns County leaders are pushing for significant changes at the state level to better protect firefighters who experience “line of duty” injuries or sicknesses. It stems from this explosion and fire in St. Augustine that happened back in August of 2011. David Stevens is the union president for St. Johns County Professional Firefighters. He remembers that day in 2011 well. “I remember going into our county administration and seeing stacks of gear piled up,” Stevens said. “Because they had to get [the firefighters] out of the gear from all of the chemicals that have been absorbed on the firefighters.” More than 12 years later, several firefighters have said their health was severely affected by that scene. It even forced at least two of them to medically retire, including the late Michael Riley.