As reported by Trustee Chiara at the July 16th meeting and as mentioned at the previous meeting, the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed changes to the Fire Brigade Standards (190.156) that will have a severe impact on many Volunteer Fire Departments. Some of the proposed changes will place a financial burden on small departments and will affect volunteer retention.

Local Departments are requesting an extension to the public information process, allowing them the opportunity to have a balanced approach into consideration of the reality of each department.  The comment period is coming to a close on 7/21/2024. The Firefighter Association of New York State (WWW.FASNY.com) is requesting additional time to digest and appropriately respond to the proposed changes.

The Floral Park Fire Department is asking residents to send their comments to request an extension for more time for the fire services to review the changes.  Comments and a request for an extension can be sent to the federalregister.gov/documents/emergency-response. Additionally links to the OSHA notice and ER webpage. The SBREFA panel report is available at https://www.regulations.gov/document/OSHA-2007-0073-0115 and the ER SBREFA webpage https://www.osha.gov/emergency-response/sbrefa.