Jonathon Wheeler
Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
(TNS)
Jul. 18—CARTHAGE — Fire officials had a chance to voice concerns about a proposal from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that would change “Fire Brigades” standards. Local officials are worried the changes could financially cripple small, rural departments.
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If signed into law, fire departments would need to upgrade training programs with more one-time and annual training on how to handle specific emergency cases with more detailed records and reports on their operations.
The meeting on Thursday was put together by West Carthage Mayor Scott Burto to get the message from concerned fire officials to the public and elected officials.
In attendance, either virtually or in person, was Assemblyman Scott A. Gray, R-Watertown, Assemblyman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, R-Black River, and representatives of state Sen. Mark C. Walczyk, R-Watertown, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, U.S. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, and Rep. Claudia L. Tenney, R-Cleveland.
The other proposed changes include stricter standards for firefighter health and fitness.
If passed by OSHA, the state will get a chance to vote on what, if any, of the proposed changes will be mandated in New York.
Concerns from fire officials on Thursday focused mostly on costs associated with the new requirements. Some even said that the changes would cost them more than their total yearly budget.
“It’s not an easy fix, but we better start looking at some kind of fixes because this is going to really cripple our departments,” Blankenbush said.
Fire officials also questioned exactly who was coming up with the regulations at OSHA.
Department officials say they would need to change tires that are not needed and replace trucks, something that would be costly.
Lowville Fire Chief Joseph Austin said he is hoping that the department leaders are heard. He also wants taxpayers to know that if this goes through as is, there will be “a huge cost.”
“Can we meet it? Maybe, I don’t know. Can we meet the personnel side of it? Maybe, possibly. It’s hard to say until we actually see the document and see what’s in it,” he said.
Austin said that he is not against more safety measures, but cost is the biggest concern.
“Do I disagree with anything that’s in there? I don’t necessarily disagree with anything in there,” he said. “Do I think medical physicals should be required? Maybe. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be but at the same time, the cost is what we come back to with that.”
If it goes through as is, Austin said he isn’t sure how any department would survive.
After the meeting, Gray said that the standards that OSHA is proposing are “unreasonable.”
“Certainly we expect and we want safety for firefighters, but it’s to a point where you’re going to drive them to the point of extinction,” he said.
Gray said the departments will now create an impact statement for elected officials to look at.
“This is not going to be funded through chicken barbecues and boot drives,” he said. “It is going to require a substantial taxpayer investment in order to accomplish some of these measures that are in this OSHA requirements. What we need to do is quantify that number and have some true impacts because this is going to go right past the fire departments and right to the taxpayers.”
He also said it was important to hear the concerns directly from firefighters on Thursday.
“It is important to hear from them directly. It is important to understand how they feel threatened by these requirements,” he said.
Tenney released a statement after the meeting, saying that the new rules “would place an incredible burden” on firefighters.
“Following many discussions with volunteer firefighters and fire departments, I strongly urge OSHA to review this rule and consider the negative impact this will have on New York’s volunteer fire departments. We must ensure our public servants are not burdened by unfunded mandates that will only hinder already strained departments,” she said in the statement.
People have until July 22 to submit comments to OSHA.
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