OSHA proposed standards have fire departments concerned

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Fire departments in Kansas and nationally could have to make costly updates if proposed standards from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are approved.

The potential changes are meant to improve equipment, increase training, and maintain firefighters' health, but keeping up with those changes could cost money that some Kansas fire departments say they do not have.

According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, proposed standards would take at least several months to become effective.

Those with the NVTC say the rules are too one-size-fits-all and seem to have been designed for mid-size fire stations.

Some are concerned about the potential for new standards in fire departments. Ensuring equipment alone is up to par with the drafted rules could prove difficult.

"If I were to have to replace all those pieces of equipment, it would be in excess of $5 million and... that's five times my annual budget," said Kevin Webster, Butler County Fire District #3 Fire Chief.

He also says other changes would strain the time of volunteer firefighters, who make up more than half of his force.

"Some of this training they've proposed is unrealistic for volunteer firefighters... some of the volunteers just don't have enough time between their personal lives and jobs," Webster said.

Butler Co. Fire District #3 is better off than other departments because it is just shy of a million dollars in budget this year.

"There are a number of departments out there that are operating on $5,000, $10,000 annual budget that are the only places in town for hours around when you talk about response time," said Ryan Woodward, NVFC Chief of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs.

"A lot of these small departments, they don't even have enough money to barely keep fuel in their trucks," Webster said.

The NVFC says there are still many questions about how the proposed OSHA regulations would work and which fire departments they may apply to volunteer, career or both.

"If you have firefighters, some who are career and some who are volunteer in the same department, following two different standards, that could create a number of complications," Webster said.

We did reach out to OSHA for an interview but didn't get one by news time. OSHA did put out a statement this week saying the administration is evaluating the concerns they've received, especially how they would affect volunteer fire departments.