November 15, 2024
HORNELL, NY – Mayor John Buckley said yesterday to the Hornell Public Safety Committee, that if the Office of Safety And Health Administration’s proposed new rules and regulations are approved, and if this causes nearby volunteer fire departments to shut down, the Hornell Fire Department will be asked to respond to calls, in places which might no longer have volunteer fire and ambulance crews. Buckley explained that the fire department in Hornell is set up to fight fires using hydrants on the streets, and that the HFD does not have the fire engines needed for hills and country areas. “We don’t have any tankers,” the Hornell mayor stated. “This could be a game changer.”
One hour after the Hornell Public Safety meeting ended, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a press conference telephone/zoom call. The senator was asked for her views on the proposed OSHA changes for fire departments, which reportedly includes additional costs of $4800 and over a hundred new training hours for all firefighters, per year. “For all of our volunteer fire departments, the requirements that OSHA is trying to implement would be very difficult for volunteers to meet,” Gillibrand answered. “I need to look into how I can be helpful to our local fire departments, and to see if OSHA is going to have requirements for fire dept’s, the firefighters should be funded. The one thing I really dislike is unfunded mandates from the federal government. It’s not right for the federal government to ask states and individuals to do things and then not help them with the resources to do it. So I’m going to look into whether it can be paired with funding. I’m also going to look into see if any of the requirements are something that can be waived, or are not necessary. We have a lot of volunteer fire departments in New York and they do great work. We don’t want to stress them out and undermine their ability to do their work,” Gillibrand said.
From The OSHA website: “OSHA has received comments in response to the NPRM from many stakeholders, including volunteer emergency responders, fire chiefs, trade organizations, and members of Congress, which raise serious concerns about the economic feasibility of the proposed standard for volunteer fire departments. OSHA takes these concerns seriously. The comments submitted to the rulemaking docket provide crucial information that the agency did not have earlier in the rulemaking process. This new information will help the agency make the necessary determinations about whether the proposed standard is feasible for volunteer organizations. OSHA is committed to taking steps in any final standard, consistent with the rulemaking record, to assess and minimize detrimental effects on volunteer fire departments. If supported by the record, this may include excluding voluntary emergency response organizations entirely based on these feasibility concerns.”
