The “Emergency Response” Standard Would Devastate Volunteer Fire Departments
A Legislative Column by Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C-Black River)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for creating rules and regulations to keep workers safe in private and public industries across all 50 states in the US. While good work is done to protect workers, the newly proposed replacement to the “Fire Brigades Standard” would be catastrophic to the operation of emergency services in District 117. Completely consisting of volunteers, this replacement plan would result in the closure of many of the volunteer fire departments in District 117, leaving our communities without essential emergency service providers.
The fundamentals of the new proposed regulation are, in essence, an effort to create safer environments for emergency service workers. The regulation, known as the “Emergency Response” standard, would require new written emergency response plans, hazard vulnerability assessments, training, personal protective equipment, medical screenings and behavioral health services. However, the policy ignores the fact that many fire departments across the Mohawk Valley and the North Country are completely made up of volunteers. In the small towns across District 117, volunteer fire departments do not have the economic capabilities to meet these new regulations. Thousands of dollars would need to be infused into these departments that are strictly funded by volunteer’s time and resources, so we would see the closure of many of the fire departments that keep our communities safe.
If enacted, this regulation will leave our communities less safe than they were before. This is unacceptable. OSHA needs to understand the diverse communities around the U.S. as well as the inconsistencies among them. In a place such as New York City, it would be fantastic to add more safety measures and training that could be fully funded. However, in the North Country and Mohawk Valley, they are leaving us completely defenseless. This issue needs to be reassessed. The people need to be heard. I cannot hope to fight this alone. Please take a moment to leave a comment on the OSHA proposal below, which is open until July 22, so as a community we can show our staunch opposition to this incredibly detrimental change.