NVFC NEWS

Dear Members ,

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on our recent meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, with the National Volunteer Fire Council. It was truly inspiring to connect with so many dedicated individuals who share our passion for serving our communities.

As many of you know, I am actively involved on three critical committees: Retention and Recruitment, Health and Safety, and Financial Support. These areas are vital to our mission, and I believe they will play a significant role in strengthening our fire service across the state.

We are at a pivotal moment. It is essential that we come together, regardless of whether we serve in volunteer or career positions, to share knowledge and resources that can elevate our entire community. I will be sending out links and materials related to our discussions, and I encourage each of you to review them. Your feedback, questions, and concerns are invaluable to us, so please do not hesitate to reach out. My contact information is included in this memo, and I am always here to listen and assist.

Our members are our most important asset, and we must cultivate a strong, united front in Colorado’s fire service. It is imperative that we work collaboratively to address the challenges we face, particularly in retention and recruitment. Together, we’ve brainstormed some promising strategies to attract and retain talented individuals in our departments.

Additionally, I want to highlight some legislative initiatives currently in progress that could greatly benefit us all. There are discussions about providing support for housing, addressing cancer-related issues, and establishing financial benefits for our volunteers. These topics are critical, as many of us juggle full-time jobs alongside our commitment to firefighting. It is vital that our sacrifices are recognized and that we receive the support we deserve.

I urge you all to participate in upcoming webinars and training sessions. These opportunities are designed to provide you with essential information and resources, including important data from the cancer survey and valuable materials from OSHA. Your input is crucial—together, we can advocate for the changes that will enhance our working conditions and overall safety.

Let’s ensure our voices are heard. I encourage you to discuss your concerns within your departments and share them with me. In November, we will have a chance to address these issues at a national level, and I want to make sure we represent the needs of our communities.

 HAZMAT training resources available in Colorado. You might want to emphasize the benefits of these free courses, such as certification and the comprehensive nature of the training offered. Additionally, consider suggesting ways to encourage participation, like hosting informational sessions or outreach programs to raise awareness about these opportunities.

Thank you for your unwavering dedication and hard work. Together, we can make Colorado a beacon of excellence in fire service. Please don’t hesitate to reach out—let’s work hand in hand to build a brighter future for our firefighters and the communities we serve.

OSHA STUFF:

As you may have seen, OSHA issued an unusual statement on Monday about the proposed 1910.156 rule. Many are asking what this all means. Having been involved in this process now for months, I offer my opinion on the statement. This is purely my opinion and may not reflect that of any organizations that I am currently working with. 

OSHA is feeling a great deal of pressure from our elected officials. They have been questioned on their process, their proposal as written, and their understanding of what they have created. OSHA is attempting to defend what they have produced and preparing for the battle ahead. They have basically thrown down the gauntlet here and challenged us to engage. They will use this to either make the needed changes in the proposal, or to defend that they have asked us for details, and we have failed to deliver. 

Please sign up to testify. We have got to deliver on this. Every department that will be impacted by this needs one person to tell your story. It is easy to tell your story and we can help you with that. Tell why the standard as written is economically infeasible. Tell them to remove the incorporated NFPA standards and replace them with plain text that we can follow and understand. Tell them your officers will no longer meet the qualifications to be officers. Tell them that weekly and 24 hours following a run truck checks are difficult for our organizations.  Tell them NFPA 1582 physicals are concerning in price. Tell them you don't have qualifications for physical trainers. Tell them you don't have time to complete the required documentation, preplans, and community assessments. Tell them there is a lot we can do to provide emergency responder safety, which they have failed to even address. Tell them they failed to use the full negotiated rulemaking process. Tell them our communities cannot support or afford this proposal as written. Tell them we are willing to work with them to develop a standard that will be good for all of us.

There are many organizations working overtime to get this message across, but OSHA needs to hear from you. There are also organizations lined up to tell OSHA why this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. They have already provided both written and verbal testimony. If we fail to tell our story, theirs will overshadow us. 

We are all for reasonable, necessary, well negotiated, changes to emergency service. It is time we roll up our sleeves, do some serious work, and make things safer for everyone. What is currently on the table is a good foundation to start from, but it needs modifications to have the desired outcome. 

We cannot stress the importance of taking this opportunity to be heard. 

The deadline to sign up to testify during the OSHA informal hearing in November is quickly approaching. You only have until September 27^th to reserve your spot. Many concerns have been expressed by the nearly 4000 written comments that were submitted during the written comment period. So, if the concerns are already on the table in writing why is it important for us testify virtually? It is important because written words are just that, written. We now have the opportunity to add faces and emotions to the words. We need OSHA to look us in the eyes and understand we are real humans, and these are real concerns. We are asking every fire department, EMS agency and municipality to sign up at least one person to give either 5 or 10 minutes of testimony. Surely each of us has one person in our organization that is well spoken and can speak on your behalf. Find that person and get them registered. We will be hosting a number of webinars prior to November to help them organize their thoughts, but they can’t testify if they don’t sign up by September 27^th.

Here are some major concerns:

1. OSHA believes this will have limited impacts on the volunteer fire service. That is not true.
2. OSHA feels this will have only minor financial impacts on local organizations. That is not true.
3. OSHA feels incorporating the NFPA standards by reference is necessary, Again, not true.
4. OSHA believes all the stakeholders had adequate representation during the process. Were you represented?
5. OSHA feels the one size fits all approach is reasonable. Do you operate like all other emergency response organizations?
6. OSHA believes their data sources were statistically significant. They were not.
7. OSHA feels each item in the proposal is attached to significant risk. They are not.
8. OSHA feels the recommendations are technologically feasible. This is not true for all of them.
9. OSHA feels they have covered all significant risks faced by emergency responders. Many risks have been left out of this proposal.
10. OSHA feels this process is fair and lets us voice our concerns. Yet major concerns that have been voiced all the way back to 2016 have not even been acknowledged, let alone addressed. 

Please sign up to testify and let OSHA know that we are we are 100% in favor of emergency responder safety, but we feel that as written, this proposal is not the answer and we are willing to help produce a better alternative, 

Sign up here 

SAFETY STUFF:

The CDC has created a National Firefighter Registry for Cancer.

CDC National Firefighter Cancer Registry Flyer

Please CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP :

FILES FROM NVFC

OSHA Statement on Emergency Responders NPRM HST_

2025 Training Plan DRAFT

Notes from 2024 NFFF Firefighter Life Safety Summit

Warm regards,

Michael Torres
NVFC Colorado Director / District 4 Representative / Training Committee Head
Colorado State Fire Fighters Association
Colorado State Fire Fighters Foundation
Email:mtorres@csffa.org
Cell:773-428-1507