OSHA rules raise alarms for fire depts
By Kevin O’Brien
Volunteer fire departments could be forced into extinction if new workplace regulations proposed by the federal government are implemented, warned Mike Koles, executive director of the Wisconsin TownsAssociation, at a meeting in Marathon County last Thursday.
Speaking to dozens of local officials gathered at the Memories Ballroom for the annual meeting of the Marathon County Unit of the Towns Association, Koles sounded the alarm about a slate of rules developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that would apply to fire and EMS departments of all sizes.
Koles said the WTA is “very concerned” about what he described as “some absolutely crazy rules” introduced in February by OSHA, which is seeking to replace its Fire Brigade standards from 1980 with a new “Emergency Response” standard. Meeting the new standards will be exceedingly costly, especially for smaller departments, he said.
“The bottom line is, it will put almost all volunteer or quasi-volunteer departments out of business,” he said.
The open comment period for the proposed rules had to be extended due to public backlash, he said, noting that an eight-hour virtual hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12.
“We’re going to see if they will allow us to
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testify,” Koles said. “We cannot have the federal government creating such stringent rules for volunteer fire and EMS that they effectively put everybody out of business.”
The proposed rules cover everything from equipment purchases and financial reporting to protective clothing, training and certification. According to the OSHA website, the new standards would require additional “baseline medical examinations” for all first responders and “medical surveillance” for those who face certain health hazards in the line of duty.
Koles said the National Association of Towns and Townships has partnered with the National Volunteer Firefighter Council to fight these rule changes before they take effect.
“If we get to a point where the rules actually become policy, then we’re going to need to lean on our federal legislators – and I hope it doesn’t get to this – to engage something called the Congressional Review Act,” he said, referring to a federal statute that allows lawmakers to review administrative rules and potentially nullify them.
According to a Feb. 5 notice published by OSHA, the current rules governing fire and EMS departments “do not address the full range of hazards currently facing emergency responders.”
Even though it is proposing more regulations, the agency said it’s also seeking “input on alternatives and potential exclusions for economically at-risk small and volunteer organizations.”
In a related matter, Koles said the WTA has also heard multiple requests for a levy limit exemption to help communities with a joint EMS department, much like what fire joint departments have already. The WTA also wants to put EMS on the same level as firefighting, with a fee-based revenue outside of the property tax, he said.
“That would free up flexibility for you all to be able to fund fire and EMS differently and in a more robust fashion,” he told the audience.
Transportation secretary speaks
Wisconsin Secretary of Transportation Craig Thompson also spoke at last week’s towns meeting, highlighting efforts to increase state funding for rural roads. One major development in this area was the creation of the Agriculture Roads Improvement Program (ARIP), which is providing $150 million to upgrade rural roads so farmers have less restrictive weight limits when transporting goods and materials.
During the first round of funding, the local towns of Day and Franzen were each awarded over a $1 million as a 90 percent match for projects that qualified for ARIP enhancements. Thompson said he’s talked to farmers who said they will be able to reduce their number of truckloads “nearly in half” after the roads are improved and the weight restrictions are lifted.
Thompson said the “lion’s share” of increased state funding for roads has gone to local units of government, including $100 million in additional revenue for the Local Road Improvement Road - Supplemental program.
“We have a long way to go, but we’ve made more strides in the last six years than we’ve made in quite awhile, and that is due to the Legislature as well as the executive branch,” he said.
One audience member, however, pushed back on Thompson’s message, accusing the secretary of making “a lot of noise” and not taking enough action.
“When are we going to see something done for us people up north here?” he said. “Our roads are terrible, really terrible.”
Thompson said the numbers tell a different story.
“Well, sir, with all due respect, I can show you the dollars, and a lot of it has gone to the northern part of the state,” he said. “It may not have gotten to all of the roads you want to repair – like I said, we have a long ways to go – but the dollars that have gone to the northern half of the state have increased significantly.”
After Thompsen spoke, Koles credited him with being the “best secretary of transportation Wisconsin has ever had,” but warned about the danger of losing state transportation funding in the future if the economy falls into a recession and lawmakers look to allocate tax dollars to other priorities like Medicaid, jails and K-12 schools.
“In every one of those instances – and we’ve been down that road before – transportation loses,” he said. “Are you going to build a town or road or make sure you have a good kindergarten teacher? The kindergarten teacher wins every day of the week.”
Koles said the WTA “burned through” a lot of political capital during the last legislative session to get its goals achieved, but he said the organization is still fighting against laws like extraterritorial zoning, which allows cities and villages to make land-use decisions in neighboring towns.
“We still have some gas in the tank to address some of your issues,” he told the audience.
Mike Koles Executive Director of Wisconsin Towns Association
Craig Thompson Wisconsin DOT Secretary
