VIDEO: A new law just signed by Governor Roy Cooper is aimed at protecting those who protect us. It all comes after families of firefighters diagnosed with cancer fought for years for more support and funding.
It would impact families like Christy Burgess. Her husband Nathan was a Raleigh firefighter and burn instructor who served for decades.
"He truly enjoyed what he did and being able to serve his community, there was a lot of pride in that," she says.
Things changed during the pandemic. A sore throat after getting COVID turned out to be cancer. Multiple rounds of chemo and radiation didn't help, and Nathan passed away. Christy says even with insurance, out of pocket medical expenses added up.
"Nathan's teeth got so destroyed that his dental care afterwards was over 20,000 dollars, just the cost of going through cancer, we probably hit close to 2 million dollars total," she says.