New safety standards for firefighters will save lives, IAFF tells lawmakers

The national approach to firefighter safety has failed over the past 40 years, and new federal standards must require greater investments in personnel, training and other resources to keep firefighters safe, a declared the AIP to Congress.

“Our reliance on blunt consensus standards and the goodwill of municipal administrators is literally killing us. Unlike almost every other American industry, we have virtually no legally enforceable workplace protections,” said Evan Davis, director of government affairs for the IAFF, during his June 4 testimony before the Deputy Emergency Management and Technology Committee of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is collecting feedback from fire safety stakeholders as it proposes a broad update to workplace protections for firefighters and other emergency service personnel, the first significant revision for over 40 years.

The International lobbied tirelessly for revised firefighting standards, which General President Edward Kelly said would reshape firefighter safety and save the lives of IAFF members. “Our work will never stop being dangerous, but we can take steps to make it safer. This update is long overdue and the Biden administration agrees,” Kelly said in an email to affiliate leaders.

The proposed standards would completely change the firefighter standard, which would be renamed the emergency response standard. The proposal calls for comprehensive changes in emergency response, including personnel, training, device preparation, and protective clothing and equipment. The new standard would also require employers to obtain basic medical screenings for emergency responders and provide access to behavioral health resources.

“Too often, our firefighters rely on the goodwill of the community or elected officials to maintain or update facilities, devices or personal protective equipment. Our nation's firefighters need a standard to fall back on, a place to go when the status quo is unsafe,” said Grant Walker, president of the Prince Georges County Professional Firefighters, at subcommittee.

Each year, approximately 60,000 firefighters are injured on the job and another 100 are killed in the line of duty, at an estimated cost of $3 billion per year. This does not account for the ongoing challenges that come with work-related injuries or behavioral health issues that many firefighters face during their careers.

OSHA's proposal recognizes that the new standards cannot follow a one-size-fits-all approach and requires employers to work with employees to develop safety plans tailored to each community and fire department.

Organizations representing volunteer firefighters warned the subcommittee that fire departments that rely on volunteers, particularly in small communities, would not have the resources to comply with the proposed new standards.

“If passed as written, this proposal would be economically infeasible for most volunteer fire departments and would result in the closure of many volunteer fire departments,” said Chief Joseph Maruca, director of the National Fire Council volunteers and former West Barnstable Fire Chief. , Massachusetts, Fire Department.

Maruca said implementing the new standards would be particularly difficult as funding has recently declined for FEMA's AFG and SAFER grant programs, which provide money to equip and staff emergency services. fire.

The IAFF said cost should not be the deciding factor in common-sense safety regulations that protect civilians and firefighters alike.

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY) acknowledged the concerns of professional and volunteer firefighter organizations. “We must find a balanced approach that promotes firefighter safety and avoids regulatory burdens that ultimately make communities less safe.” »

D'Esposito ended the hearing by thanking participating organizations, including the IAFF: “This OSHA standard has not been touched since 1980, and you have been the driving force in making firefighters' lives more safe throughout the country. »