OSHA Considering Additional Regs for the Fire Service

According to BusinessInsurance.com, the US Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is contemplating new regulations aimed specifically at firefighters. Published last week, the article lists several areas that OSHA is looking at, including mandatory medical examinations to help address the cardiac risk and banning sliding poles due to injuries.

The article quotes Bill Hamilton, a fire protection engineer with OSHA, as saying: “OSHA recognizes that there are a lot of injuries from people sliding down poles and hitting the bottom too hard, and one way of reducing those injuries is to eliminate the installation of new poles and instead provide stairs or slides.”

The article indicates that OSHA has asked the National Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health for input on “a proposed emergency responder preparedness program standard”

The National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health website indicates that they were meeting last month to discuss a proposed “rule” covering “medical evaluation and fitness requirements, facility and equipment preparedness, vehicle preparedness and operation, pre-incident planning, emergency incident standard operating procedures, post-incident analysis, and program evaluation”.

Here is the original article.

UPDATED: 3/19/2016

Here is the transcript of the December 8, 2015 OSHA meeting in Washington DC: OSHA-2015-0019-0005

Here is a web site with some additional information on the proceedings.

A BIG thank you to Brian Stewart for pointing me to this information!!!!

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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