Incoming New York Rep. Josh Riley is joining a chorus calling on OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to rethink its proposed new safety standards for firefighters.

He said he was concerned about the possible impact on New York volunteer firefighters. 

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor, obtained first by Spectrum News, the congressman-elect wrote, “Volunteer fire departments across my district are cash-strapped and understaffed. The last thing they need is more burdensome regulations, unfunded mandates, and stifling bureaucracy out of Washington.”

OSHA’s proposed new standards include additional training requirements, plus medical screenings and more frequent vehicle inspections. 

Volunteer operations in smaller New York communities have warned such changes could increase costs and complicate recruitment, potentially making their future untenable.

“At a minimum, the Biden Administration should exempt volunteer fire departments from most or all of the new rule’s mandates,” Riley wrote in the letter.

Riley, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro in this month’s election to represent New York’s 19th congressional district, which stretches from Ithaca to the Hudson Valley. The district encompasses several rural areas where, Riley argues, volunteer firefighters are “very often the closest and first emergency response.”

In a statement in September, OSHA noted they had received feedback about the anticipated impact the proposed rule could have on volunteer firefighters, and left the door open to modifications. 

“OSHA is committed to taking steps in any final standard, consistent with the rulemaking record, to assess and minimize detrimental effects on volunteer fire departments. If supported by the record, this may include excluding voluntary emergency response organizations entirely based on these feasibility concerns,” the statement said.

Public hearings are underway for the proposed rule.