There were more than 500 first responders from Connecticut who went to New York City to help after the attacks on 9/11.

The fund set aside for them and others is called the World Trade Center Health Program.

Its purpose is to provide the best medical care for more than 82,000 responders and survivors exposed to poisons and toxins.

The future of that program was facing a big question mark with proposed restructuring of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health by the Trump administration.

“In the latest budget fight, the Trump administration sought to reduce and even dismantle the World Trade Center Health Program,” stated, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal.

Blumenthal was on hand at the New Haven Fire Training Academy to celebrate a victory on Monday. The program was safeguarded after the President’s proposal was rejected in the latest spending bill.

“None of us knew the toxins that we were exposed to,” New Haven Fire Chief John Alston said “We were told that day the air was okay to breathe. Even in this helmet I still have the dust mask they gave out to us that day…that fund goes to ensure that they are taken care of.” cleardot Fund to protect 9/11 first responders is safeguarded