SEBASTIAN COUNTY, Ark — A new proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirement could greatly impact rural and volunteer fire departments in Arkansas.
The proposed rule is called the Emergency Response Standard and "would address a broader scope of emergency responders and would include programmatic elements to protect emergency responders from a variety of occupational hazards," according to OSHA.
"[It could] impact fire departments in a way of funding, but also requirements of who can volunteer because of the capabilities physically and maybe even mentally," said Travis Cooper, Director of Emergency Management for Sebastian County and Secretary for the Arkansas Rural and Volunteer Firefighter's Association.
"If there are certain regulations and requirements that apprehend or restrict the way we do business or the way that we save lives and protect property, that is going to hurt Arkansas very much in a way that our volunteers are in these communities," Cooper said.
The proposal could require departments to purchase new equipment, including vehicles that are no more than 15 years old, get regular medical exams, and go through new training. They would also have to get their trucks checked, their brakes tested, and perform more administrative tasks.
Cooper said the smaller departments just don't have the manpower.
"It's a strain financially, and then it is a strain finding the volunteers to stay on board," Cooper said. "[Some] equipment may not meet the requirements through OSHA and so therefore may not be an operational and functional."
The District 1 Fire Department in Rudy has about 25 volunteers. Chief Scott Price says this could potentially make the rural communities lose emergency services due to funding.
"Some of the departments just absolutely can't do it, which means that they may just decide to shut the door, which would be a devastating loss to the community," Price said.
"According to the information we've received so far, OSHA itself estimates that it would cost about 14, 000 per year per department," said Eric Simpson, Fire Coordinator for Crawford County. "That is about half of the department budget for some of our smaller departments."
The department usually buys trucks that are around 20 years old.
"When a fire truck behind us right now used cost well over 120, 000, you can see the problem that we're going to have," Simpson said.
This change could also impact the larger departments, as if there's no one to respond in the rural communities they could get more calls.
"The City of Van Buren has to cover their citizens also. Now they don't have time to come out here in the rural area and spend a lot of time serving our community when they've got a responsibility as well," Price said.
Simpson said he wants OSHA to reconsider this because of the impacts it will have on the volunteer departments.
"This is a regulation they do not need," Simpson said. "Recognize that the rural fire departments do not have a full-time staff and do not have a budget that can survive this."
"Speaking in terms of OSHA and what the state of Arkansas may be facing, we have more challenges than we do have benefits of being a volunteer fire department," Cooper said. "But the need is greater than the challenge."
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