Sen. Jerry Moran says proposed OSHA rules threaten Kansas’ volunteer fire agencies

TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran says financially strapped volunteer fire departments in Kansas and other states should be exempt from costly federal regulations included in a proposed update of health and safety standards for emergency response workers.

Standards under consideration by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration would apply to firefighters as well as personnel engaged in emergency medical services and technical search and rescue operations. The agency recommended changes to rules regarding written emergency response plans, hazard vulnerability assessments, training, personal protective equipment, medical screening and behavioral health services.

Moran, a Kansas Republican, joined a bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators who asked the federal Department of Labor to exclude volunteer fire departments from “burdensome” portions of the proposed regulations. In Kansas, nearly 80% of fire departments were staffed by volunteers.

“It is our intention to insulate our volunteers and the communities they serve from the negative impacts of a regulation that could jeopardize their fire services,” Moran said. “The rule must provide volunteer departments with the flexibility to perform their duties unencumbered by impracticable requirements.”

The senators said “significant shares” of equipment in use at volunteer fire departments would no longer be OSHA compliant. The cost of replacing equipment and adopting new rules on training and health care would be a burden on volunteer departments “whose budgets are already strained,” the lawmakers said.

OSHA said the proposed regulations would replace “decades-old, hazard-specific standards” that weren’t comprehensive enough to address the range of hazards faced by firefighters.

“Emergency responders are critical workers in all of our communities, and they deserve protections that keep up with today’s industry practices,” said Doug Parker, assistant secretary for occupational safety and health at the U.S. Department of Labor.

The International Association of Fire Fighters endorsed adoption of comprehensive standards, but the National Volunteer Fire Council cautioned the mandate would require large investments in staffing, training and other support in some emergency departments.

Meanwhile, the International Association of Fire Chiefs said departments with 240 to 600 responders could expect to increase annual expenditures up to 10% to comply with the proposed OSHA regulations. Departments with fewer than 70 responders would be critically impacted by regulatory changes and could anticipate a 46% increase on annuals budgets, the IAFC said.

(The International Association of Fire Chiefs’ assessment of OSHA’s rules on department budgets was improperly attributed to the International Association of Fire Fighters.)