Volunteer firefighters and first responders gathered at the Albertson Fire Department Saturday morning to demand the same health care coverage that paid firefighters receive.

Officials say firefighters are twice as likely to get certain types of cancer as the average person due to the toxins they are exposed to in the line of duty.

Those in attendance at the Firemen's Association of the State of New York and the Southern New York Volunteer Firemen's Association's Legislative Outreach Conference say pushing for health coverage would help 20,000 volunteer firefighters across Long Island.

Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky (20th District) says he's pushing for health coverage to be part of the new state budget. He was among several local lawmakers this week who signed a letter addressing the concerns.

"Firefighters sign up to fight fires, which is amazing and heroic. They don't sign up to fight cancer by themselves. They can't be abandoned by our state government," said Kaminsky.

Long Island's volunteer firefighters work in 180 departments. There are about 100,000 volunteers across the state.