Firefighters to begin implementing new OSHA rules

The Sundance Volunteer Fire Department is taking first steps towards meeting new regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), starting with a physical fitness program.

Unfortunately, said Fire Chief Gari Gill last week, efforts to convince OSHA that the standards are too burdensome for small, volunteer departments have not yet met with success.

Alongside his own efforts, he has spoken with Wyoming’s Congressional delegation, he said, and “they are battling” to reduce the impact.

OSHA announced plans earlier this year to update an existing standard and expand safety and health protections for emergency responders. The goal, the department said, was to “modernize” the “Fire Brigades” standard that was first published in 1980 and has protections that have become outdated.

Replacing the old standard will be the new “Emergency Response” standard, which updates protections in a manner that OSHA says is in line with national consensus standards for a broad range of workers exposed to hazards that arise during and after fires and other emergencies.

The proposal includes major changes for protective clothing and equipment and improvements in safety practice that OSHA states are generally accepted as standard within the industry.

Since the announcement was made, Gill has been concerned about the cost to Sundance’s department – both financial and in volunteer time.

To meet the new regulations, he said, will cost around $14,000 “just to set the program up”.

Now those standards are being implemented, Gill told the council last week that his department is introducing a physical fitness program. He is working to secure an affordable deal with a nutritionist and instructor in town, he said, and will bring this to the volunteers.

A yearly physical will also be necessary, he said, and will cost somewhere in the region of $780 per person.

These implementations, said Gill, will be funded using money in the fire department budget that has been set aside for the mandate.

The council was not particularly impressed with the new regulations.

“We bitch and moan that we have no volunteers, yet we make it so stinking miserable to be a volunteer,” said Mayor Paul Brooks, referring to the requirements now placed on firefighters.

Council Member Callie Hilty meanwhile pointed out that a person has to be “somewhat” fit just to carry and use the equipment.

Nevertheless, the council had no issue with Gill moving forward to implement the requirements.