Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 45, November 9, 2024
Section 89.2 - Eligibility(a)General. Upon the death of a public safety officer who meets the requirements of the act, surviving beneficiaries are eligible for payment of a benefit if the public safety officer dies as a result of the public safety officer's performance of duties.(b)Performance of duties. Performance of duties includes: (1) Actions which the public safety officer is obligated or authorized by rule, regulation, condition of employment or service, or law to perform.(2) Participation in a physical training exercise that is a formal part of an official training program whose purpose is to train, prepare or improve the public safety officer in particular activity or actions encompassed within the public safety officer's duties.(3) Ceremonial functions.(4) Actions which the act deems to be within the public safety officer's duties.(c)Requirements of the act. At the time of performance of duties: (1) A member of the National Guard shall be in an official state duty status authorized under 51 Pa.C.S. § 508 (relating to active State duty for emergency).(2) A certified hazmat response team member shall be dispatched by a public safety answering point to perform services or take actions within the group's primary purpose and may not be any of the following: (i) Certified and organized by a transporter, a manufacturer, supplier or user of hazardous materials or a private contractor.(ii) A for-profit team acting as an agent on behalf of the spiller or responsible party.(iii) A for-profit team responsible for postemergency or nonemergency response.(d)Statutory presumption. (1) A public safety officer is presumed to have died as a result of the performance of duties, if the individual suffers one of the following: (i) A fatal heart attack or stroke while on duty.(ii) A fatal heart attack or stroke suffered not later than 24 hours after participating in a physical training exercise.(iii) A fatal heart attack or stroke suffered not later than 24 hours after responding to an emergency.(2) The statutory presumption is overcome when evidence proves to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that circumstances other than the performance of duties were a substantial factor in causing the fatal heart attack or stroke.The provisions of this §89.2 amended November 16, 2007, effective 11/17/2007, 37 Pa.B. 6106.