Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
11 <br /> Slide #20 <br /> Challenges <br /> • OSHA changes and associated impacts <br /> — 29 GFR 1910.156 is the fire brigade standard <br /> — Originally adopted in 1980 and never fully updated <br /> — Increased requirement for medical monitoring will significantly <br /> increase the demand on already limited budgets <br /> — Heavy dependency on NFPA standards <br /> Currently are considered best practice but not mandated to comply,as part <br /> of OSHA becomes mandatory to comply <br /> Approximately 35 NFPA standards referenced or adopted fully <br /> Compliance obligation starts on the effective date of the rule <br /> — Applies to all departments with one or more employees <br /> • Volunteers that receive a per call reimbursement may be included <br /> — Still in draft stages but will be expensive to comply if adopted <br /> 20 <br /> Phillip Nasseri said it would not apply to a fully volunteer fire department, of which there <br /> is only one in Orange County. He said this would potentially be detrimental to volunteers and will <br /> be a significant financial burden to the department. <br /> Kirby Saunders said his department provided comments to OSHA on these changes. He <br /> said the original standards were written for industrial fire brigades. He said the economic impact <br /> will be $8-10 million on Orange County departments. He said this is still in draft form. He said <br /> while they do not necessarily disagree with all the changes, they could be more evenly <br /> implemented. <br /> Slide #21 <br /> Challenges <br /> • Becoming harder to fill open positions <br /> • Salary competition outpaces local funding <br /> • Growth in nearby towns and counties <br /> increase the demand for qualified personnel <br /> taking away local talent <br /> • Equipment costs increasing beyond local <br /> funding capabilities <br /> • Higher demands for regulatory compliance <br /> making equipment and truck replacement <br /> occur more frequently. <br /> 21 <br /> Jeff Cabe said the NFPA started developing standards in the 1970s to make consensus <br /> standards nationwide. He said that in the past, standards were written by firefighters. He said <br /> now they are written by NFPA and that has basically become a machine. He said it is difficult to <br />