ONTARIO COUNTY, N.Y. – For the first time in decades, the federal government is overhauling safety regulations for firefighters. But the effort to protect the people who protect us may have some big unintended consequences.

Firefighters in the Finger Lakes region have had a busy summer responding to thousands of calls, not just for fires, but for all the damage Mother Nature has been leaving behind, “we’ve been responding to flooded basements, threatening utilities, flooded roadways,” said Chris Brown, Chief of the Cheshire Fire Department.

Hundreds of towns across our region still rely on volunteer firefighters and it’s those departments that are most worried about some major changes on the horizon.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is updating its rules for firefighters and departments and we’re not just talking about a few small tweaks. The previous rule book was about 20 pages, now it’s more than 600.

A few of the proposed changes?

• Fire trucks must be replaced every 15-20 years, even if they’re still in good working condition.
• Turnout gear must be replaced every 10 years.
• Every firefighter must have a biannual physical exam with a designated doctor.

Some of the biggest concerns about the new rule changes are when it comes to training. New firefighters would need about double the number of hours they currently need just to get on the fire truck. The increase in training hours isn’t just for rookies.

“It’s not only for the general membership but for the line officers, chiefs, the captains, the lieutenants, the training that’s going to be required with this, is just going to be hours and hours,” said Eric Dey, Chief of the Bristol Fire Department.

OSHA says current emergency response and preparedness standards are outdated and incomplete and it needs to ensure emergency responders get the protections they deserve, whether they’re paid or volunteers.

But many of the first responders say the new rules could drive them straight out of service.

“It’s the same person going into the burning building, the requirements really should be the same however, on the volunteer side, it is tough to maintain the high level of training hours when you are doing it as a secondary mission in life. This is not your permanent job so it’s easier to implement those type of requirements on somebody who it’s their full time job,” says Del Parrotta, Chief of the Geneva Fire Department.

Then, there’s the price of it all. “How many more chicken BBQs, pancake breakfasts, boot drives, bingo games can they host? They’re tapped out as it is, they’re short as it is,” says NYS Senator Pam Helming who represents much of the Finger Lakes Region in Albany. 

There’s no federal funding coming to help implement these changes. “We don’t want to compromise safety at all. We want to maintain the highest levels of safety but some of this stuff doesn’t, isn’t required to maintain the highest level of safety because we already have certifications. And New York does have a lot of regulation,” said Rep. Claudia Tenney of the 24th Congressional District. She’s promising to advocate for changes before the rules become permanent. 

If changes aren’t made to the proposed new rules, many of these smaller departments say their days could be numbered. “If you say, well we can close down a volunteer station and maybe a career station locally will pick-up or absorb it, that’s still a burden somewhere. The mission doesn’t change, the call volume doesn’t change,” says Parrotta.

“We’re going to be there, hell or high water, I can assure you of that but we need a commonsense approach to come to these proposed changes,” says Rick Rox, President of the Cheshire Fire Department.

OSHA is planning an informal hearing that will begin on Nov. 12. Anyone can comment during that hearing. You can see more information here.

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