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By: National Special Districts Coalition

Earlier this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed a rule that would replace the decades-old “Fire Brigades Standard” with a new “Emergency Response Standard” (ERS) that expands federal workplace safety regulations for first responders. While the intent of the proposed rule is to enhance safety, a number of stakeholders have expressed serious concern that it fails to adequately consider the financial and operational burden that the rule would place on emergency agencies. 

The National Special Districts Coalition (NSDC), of which CSDA is a founding member, submitted comments to OSHA urging the agency to suspend its proposed rule until a thorough and complete financial analysis of the proposal is conducted. As part of its correspondence, NSDC expressed concerns that the new rule would ultimately divert resources from core emergency response activities and services. The proposal’s one-size-fits-all approach could cripple already fiscally strapped fire protection districts and other emergency services agencies, particularly those with small operating budgets, as well as negatively impact recruitment and retention efforts. Moreover, the financial burden of this proposal could lead to the closure of rural fire departments that are unable to comply with the requirements.

NSDC has noted specific areas of concern with the proposed rule, including the following:

• Community Vulnerability Assessments – A systematic assessment of structures, transportation systems, and infrastructure within each Emergency Service Organization’s (ESO) geographic area of responsibility is required under the proposed rule. While NSDC appreciates the objective of this exercise, such comprehensive assessments would be infeasible for many special districts due to limited personnel and data resources. In the state of Oregon, for example, fewer than 20 out of approximately 300 fire departments in the state have access to GIS or analytics for ongoing community vulnerability assessments.
• Medical Requirements – OSHA’s proposed rule would impose a number of medical requirements on ESOs, including comprehensive physical exams for all first responders. NFPA 1582 medical physicals – which are the gold standard for assessing firefighter health – are extremely costly and, in many rural areas, unavailable due to a lack of medical providers. Likewise, behavioral health and wellness resources, which ESOs would need to make available to employees, remain inaccessible to many due to a shortage of medical providers in rural areas. Since an ESO lacks control over service access, it is impractical for OSHA to mandate anything beyond creating a service plan.
• Fitness for Duty Requirements – Unlike other occupations, OSHA does not currently mandate fitness-for-duty testing for firefighters. If such testing is to be required, careful consideration must be given to the challenges communities face in recruiting and retaining emergency responders, including volunteers.
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards – Incorporating entire NFPA standards by reference, which organizations must adhere to verbatim, poses risks. The additional 3,000 pages of information beyond the federal standard would need thorough examination for compliance. Moreover, NFPA standards are often updated without public input and therefore create a moving target.
  • NFPA 1910 mandates that individuals conducting fire equipment inspection, maintenance, and testing must be qualified as Emergency Vehicle Technicians. This requirement poses a significant challenge for many organizations and would likely be very difficult for ESOs to fully meet.
  • NFPA 1910’s broad definition of vehicles, including privately owned vehicles, presents regulatory complexities for special districts.
  • NFPA 1910’s requirements for retiring vehicles and personal protective equipment (PPE) would place a heavy financial burden on taxpayers.

Members of Congress have also expressed concerns about the unintended consequences of the proposed rule, including Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), the chair of the Senate Western Caucus, who sent a letter to OSHA Assistant Secretary Douglas Parker. In addition, the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Emergency Management held a hearing to receive stakeholder perspectives. Additional information, including an archived webcast of the hearing, can be accessed here. The issue was also discussed before the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections on July 24th. More details on that hearing can be found here.

#Fire Protection
#Emergency Response
#Mandates
#Human Resources and Personnel
#Workplace Safety