United States Senator John Boozman met with Sebastian County volunteer firefighters on Wednesday, September 4, to hear their input on a proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule that has the potential to put burdensome regulations on volunteer fire departments in Arkansas and across the country. Also attending the meeting, District 47 State Representative Lee Johnson.
Fire Chiefs representing White Bluff-Rye Hill, Mansfield, Greenwood, Greenwood Rural, Huntington, EMP, Midland, Hartford, and Barling were in attendance at the meeting held at the White Bluff – Rye Hill fire station. Also in attendance, Northwest Scott Assistant Fire Chief Jack Morgan, Sebastian County Emergency Management and EMS Rescue Director Travis Cooper, Arkansas Rural & Volunteer Firefighters Association’s Bill Byrd, and Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz.
In February, OSHA announced its proposal to modernize safety requirements for emergency responders. Boozman has expressed his concerns to the acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor that parts of the plan could cause unintended consequences and lead to increased costs resulting in potential cuts and services.
In August, the Senate Appropriation Committee adopted language championed by Boozman to encourage OSHA to conduct listening session and outreach with stakeholders to fully understand the impact of new requirements on volunteer fire departments.
“We must ensure firefighters have the tools and training to safeguard themselves and the community, which means any adjustments to the standards applied to them must be carefully considered. OSHA’s current one-size-fits-all proposal could jeopardize volunteer fire departments’ ability to continue operating or drastically limit their resources and personnel capacity. I’m hopeful the plan can be revised with feedback from stakeholders,” Boozman said.
Out of Arkansas’s 1,003 fire departments, 974 are at least partially staffed by volunteers. It is these volunteer-based departments, already operating on tight budgets, that will struggle the most to comply with OSHA’s new standards.
“OSHA estimates these new regulations will cost fire departments $15,000. Given the breadth of the requirements, that figure seems highly unrealistic and doesn’t account for the likely unintended consequences, including the need for in-house lawyers and compliance staff necessary to implement the 250-page rule. It is easy to understand why our local leaders and volunteer fire services view this rule as daunting and unworkable. While I appreciate OSHA’s efforts to ensure the safety and effectiveness of our emergency services personnel, this is another example of a blanket federal regulation that does more harm than good. It jeopardizes the safety of small communities across Arkansas and our country by decimating local fire station staff and potentially leaving them without adequate systems for protection and mitigation. I understand the importance of local volunteer fire departments to Arkansans. In many cases, they are the backbone of our rural communities, composed of courageous volunteers who take great pride and responsibility in serving their fellow citizens. Without them, our communities face greater fire risks, leading to widespread safety concerns and higher home insurance premiums for everyday Arkansans. Needlessly threatening to eliminate these long-standing community institutions is not only sad, but unwise. That’s why I was proud to join the rest of Arkansas’s congressional delegation, led by Congressman Rick Crawford, in denouncing OSHA’s new rule and requesting its immediate rescission. We will continue working to protect our volunteer fire departments and the important mission they fulfill for communities in every corner of our state.”
Concerns by area fire departments regarding the proposed rules included the vague language, probability of misinterpretation, qualifications of exemption, extreme hardships in regard to recruiting and retention. Additionally, questions regarding mutual aid, funding and impacts to ISO.
“This rule will undoubtedly force the closure of many volunteer departments nationwide,” shared Seiter. “If those dissolve, then so does their respective medical first responder programs.”
Boozman stated that the OSHA rule has obvious unintended consequences that “they haven’t thought about.”
The new OSHA rule has been receiving pushback from all over the country. If adopted, however, Federal legislators have the authority to overturn it. “…I don’t want to do anything that will make your job more difficult,” concluded Boozman.
Locally, the consensus was clear, definitions and clarifications to the OSHA rule are needed.
