Massachusetts Legislature Hears Testimony on Injured Chelmsford Firefighter's Benefits Bill

BOSTON — June 3, 2026 — Massachusetts lawmakers heard testimony on a governor-filed bill to restore full injured-on-duty pay to a Chelmsford firefighter left with under $300 a week in workers' compensation after a 40-foot fall at a state training academy. The Joint Committee on Public Service, chaired by Representative Daniel J. Ryan and Senator Michael D. Brady, took up House Bill 5429 at its 21st hearing June 3, after Nicholas Spinelli fell from a burn tower window at the Massachusetts Fire Academy on April 7, 2026, while training recruits. Rich McKinnon, president of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, representing more than 12,000 members, warned the committee that the bill fixes only Spinelli's case and leaves unclosed a policy gap affecting more than 200 support branch personnel and 300-plus part-time instructors at the academy. Walter Buckley, Spinelli's uncle and a former Medford Firefighters Local 1032 president, told the committee that Spinelli's town initially denied him access to the department sick bank while he recovered from multiple surgeries at age 28. The committee also heard testimony on Senate Bill 3051, to extend retirement benefits to the family of Uxbridge Police Officer Stephen Laporta, killed January 7 on Route 146 during an ice storm.