OSHA Proposes Sweeping New Health and Safety Standards for Emergency Responders – Including EMS

 On February 5, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officially published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to issue a new proposed safety and health standard, titled Emergency Response, to replace the existing  Fire Brigades Standard, 29 CFR 1910.156. The current Fire Brigades Standard, initially promulgated in 1980, only covers a limited subset of present-day emergency responders (firefighters) and has only had minor updates over the 43+ years it has existed. As a result, the current standard does not address the full range of hazards currently facing all emergency responders, nor does it reflect significant changes in performance specifications for protective clothing and equipment or major improvements in safety and health practices that have already been accepted by the emergency response community and incorporated into industry consensus standards.  More information, click here.