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Firefighters battled a fully-involved house fire at 203 Rockwell Road in Nedrow, in this 2016 file photo. (Ken Sturtz | ksturtz@syracuse.com, 2016)

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A bill granting cancer coverage to the state's more than 110,000 volunteer firefighters has passed both chambers of the New York State Legislature.

It's now on its way to the desk of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and the state firemen's association has urged him to sign it "without delay."

The bill would give $25,000 to volunteer firefighters who contract types of cancer including melanoma, digestive, hematological, lymphatic, urinary, prostate, neurological, breast and reproductive.

If a firefighter is unable to work due to illness, the bill grants firefighters 36 months of $1,500 in disability benefits.

And if a firefighter dies, the bill provides a $50,000 benefit to the firefighter's family.

Currently, volunteer firefighters are not afforded disability or health protections except through the Volunteer Firefighters' Benefit Law, which provides a maximum of $600 a month in disability benefits, according to the bill's introductory memo.

Local fire departments, districts or municipalities will pay for the expanded benefits, according to the legislators who sponsored the bill, Sen. Joseph Griffo (R-Rome) and Anthony Brindisi (D-Utica).

Firefighters are eligible for the health care coverage if they have served at least five years and entered the volunteer service after passing a physical that detected no signs of cancer.

"Firefighters often respond to interior fires where cancer-causing substances are burning. While fire-prevention techniques have improved, firefighting is still dangerous," Brindisi said in a news release. "It is only right that we provide the volunteers who are there to save our homes and our families with the health care coverage they deserve..."