OSHA Proposed Emergency Response Standard
About the Proposed Standard
On February 5, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modernize the agency’s “Fire Brigades” standard with a proposed new “Emergency Response Standard.” This NPRM’s publication triggered the beginning of a public comment period that concluded on July 22, 2024. An informal public hearing was then held from November 12 to December 4, 2024. A second public comment period closed on January 17, 2025. OSHA is now reviewing the public input received.
While many of the proposed provisions in the Emergency Response Standard would be helpful and improve the safety of emergency responders, many of the new requirements would be very burdensome, and in many cases impossible, for volunteer fire and emergency service departments to comply with. If the standard is adopted in its current form, many departments would be forced to shut their doors or else operate outside of the federal standard, leaving themselves open to fines, citations, and huge civil liability exposure.
This page contains resources to help you better understand the standard and what you can do. Sign up to the NVFC’s email list to stay informed of updates.
NVFC Issues Statement on Emergency Response Standard Ahead of Labor Nominee Confirmation Hearing
As the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee prepares for the confirmation hearing of Secretary of Labor nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the National Volunteer Fire Council would like to re-affirm our strong concerns about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposed Emergency Response Standard. While we agree with the need for additional firefighter safety, the proposed OSHA standard as written would cripple emergency response in rural America due to its economically infeasibility and arbitrary administrative burdens. A safety standard that’s impossible to implement would not support firefighter safety. Additionally, much of the proposed standard goes beyond addressing a significant risk that can be quantified by data. If confirmed, we urge Fmr. Rep. Chavez-DeRemer to work with volunteer firefighters on formulating an approach within OSHA’s jurisdiction that would improve firefighter safety without compromising emergency response capabilities.
View and Understand the Proposed Standard
- Read the proposed standard in the Federal Register.
- View the Emergency Response Rulemaking webpage.
- Read a one-page summary of some of the requirements the proposed standard would place on fire departments.
- View a full outline of the requirements included in the proposed standard.
- View a list of NFPA standards incorporated by reference in the proposed standard.
- Get answers to frequently asked questions about the standard.
- View pain points to understand how the proposed standard may impact your department.
- Read OSHA’s Statement on the Emergency Response Rulemaking and Volunteer Emergency Responders
- Watch this webinar on the Proposed OSHA Standard and What it Means for Volunteer Departments (recorded May 16, 2024).
Your Role in Advocacy
- Share this Advocacy One-Pager with your Representative and Senators detailing concerns with the proposed OSHA standard.
Comments and Testimonies
- Read the NVFC’s initial comments to OSHA, submitted on July 16, 2024, to understand the organization’s concerns about the proposed standard’s impact on the volunteer fire service.
- Read the NVFC’s post-hearing public comments and legal comments submitted to OSHA in January 2025.
- View the docket of all public comments submitted to OSHA during the public comment periods regarding the proposed standard.
- Read the NVFC’s written testimony from OSHA’s public hearing.
- The House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on OSHA on July 24, 2024. Watch the recording of the hearing and read the written testimony of NVFC North Carolina Director Chief Tim Bradley.
- The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology held a hearing on OSHA’s proposed Emergency Response Standard on June 4, 2024. Watch the recording of the hearing of the hearing and read the written testimony of NVFC Massachusetts Director Joe Maruca.
Additional Resources
