Now that FEMA has ruled it won't financially help out families who were victims of a deadly forest fire in June, the state of Arizona might be the only government body to come to their rescue.

The Yarnell Hill Fire that burned thousands of acres, killed 19 hotshot firefighters and destroyed more than 100 homes in June also raised serious questions about benefits for "part-time" workers who risk their lives but might not be fully insured by their employers. In addition, it left displaced uninsured homeowners wondering what they might recover in the wake of a fire that started on federal land.

The largest controversy, though, has swirled around the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who died in the blaze. Of those, 13 were classified as seasonal or part-time. As a result, while their families received compensation for their sacrifices, the survivors of the six full-time workers will receive considerably more.

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.