North Country Leader

Over the past month, torrential storms and extreme weather have devastated Lewis County. Without the support of volunteer fire departments across the county, the devastation could have been exponentially worse. This situation underscores the importance of volunteer fire departments in our counties and highlights potential issues stemming from new OSHA proposals that could potentially close these departments.

The proposed OSHA regulations, known as the “Emergency Response” standards, would require new emergency response plans, hazard vulnerability assessments, training, personal protective equipment, medical screenings, and behavioral health services. Volunteer fire departments do not have the budget to enact these measures. If these regulations had been in place before this recent series of treacherous storms, Lewis County would have been completely defenseless. While this storm caused significant damage, it demonstrated that our counties need volunteer fire departments.

The core issue is that New York state currently categorizes career and volunteer fire departments into the same group. Consequently, all departments must meet OSHA’s training requirements and adhere to all OSHA regulations. In large, well-established city fire departments, this is not an issue. However, small communities in districts like ours rely on volunteer fire departments that cannot afford these costly regulations. There needs to be a differentiation between volunteer and career fire departments in New York to ensure community safety.

Presently, no legislation differentiates career and volunteer fire departments in New York. "This needs to be addressed," said one concerned citizen. "I am not going to stop until we make sure the volunteer fire departments in our district are protected." The individual emphasized that volunteers sacrifice their time, safety, and personal income to keep communities safe and called for legislation that will allow them to continue protecting communities without facing shutdowns due to organizations such as OSHA.

"When I arrive back in Albany," they added emphatically, "I will be working tirelessly to ensure this becomes a reality."