Amendment would presume liability of fire equipment manufacturers
DISPATCHES
An amendment to a federal product liability bill would force fire clothing and equipment manufacturers to prove their products met Occupational Health and Safety Administration fire brigade standards, should an incident involving the product result in death or injury.
If a firefighter was severely burned while wearing a turnout coat and sued the manufacturer, it would be up to the manufacturer to prove that the garment met the OSHA (or more stringent state) standards.
This ‘presumptive liability” amendment, offered by Congressman Dennis Eckart (DOhio), is Section 203(e) of the Uniform Product Safety Act of 1988. Eckart. who has two brothers that are firefighters/paramedics. proposed the amendment. A separate bill had been sponsored by Ohio Congressman Edward F. Feighan.
“It’s intended to protect firefighters,” says an Eckart spokeswoman. “We don’t want situations where firefighters are injured because the clothing they were wearing was substandard.”
The Eire Equipment Manufacturers and Suppliers Association, which represents about 50 manufacturers, opposes the amendment. It isn’t necessary, the group says, because present liability laws allow legal action to be taken against manufacturers. The organization has hired a lobbying firm to help present its concerns to legislators.
“Congressman Eckart is trying to do a good thing, but he’s attempting to fix a problem that doesn’t exist,” says Mary Grilliot, vice chairwoman of FEMSA’s board of directors. “We’re trying to let legislators know that it’s not a simple motherhood-andapple-pie issue.”
If the bill is passed, Grilliot says, it would be difficult for manufacturers to get insurance coverage. If they could get coverage, it would be expensive, and that cost would likely be reflected in clothing and equipment prices. The amendment could force production of fire equipment and clothing outside the United States, she says.
But because of time restraints, the popular federal liability bill is not considered likely for enactment this year.
