The state's 96,000 volunteer firefighters seem to have a common motivation.

"It's giving back to the community. I find it exciting, challenging, and just trying to help out other people," said Orange County Fire Training Coordinator/ Salisbury Mills Volunteer Firefighter James McCann.

But that desire to help can have devastating consequences for their health. When firefighters respond to a call, there's a chance that they're breathing in the chemicals in the buildings, and those can cause some life-threatening cancers. And with a new law that Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther pushed forward, volunteer firefighters can get coverage for certain cancers they developed on duty.

"We know that we have a lot of toxicities, and that when you go into a burning building to save lives you're not thinking about that. But then the sequella could be some sort of cancer, so we knew that it was important to make sure that there was coverage for these folks," Gunther said.

Some see this new law as a way to help the gap in coverage. The $600 a month that a totally disabled firefighter could receive is bumped up to $1,500 a month for up to three years. And eligible firefighters will be able to get up to $25,000 for their cancer treatment. The law goes into effect in 2019.