At the time this article is being submitted; February 28, we have drama playing out in Washington D.C. unlike anything seen before. But to keep it civil and politically neutral (as best I can), let’s take some snippets of recent events and outcomes.
January 28 – NVFC reported that President Trump issued an order temporarily pausing grants, loans and other federal assistance programs that would impact funding sources for NVFC. Those included 5 active federal grants through FEMA (which I will come back to later). The US Forest Service, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and a subrecipient on another federal grant awarded to NFPA’s research foundation. These grants allow NVFC to focus on firefighter health and safety, provide training in more rural areas where departments are less likely to have access to training, and assist departments through their national recruitment and retention campaign, “Make Me a Firefighter.”
Fortunately, on January 29, the memorandum calling for a freeze of federal funds had been rescinded and the crisis averted until they took their promised deep dive into FEMA. There is a lot of chatter ranging from eliminating FEMA altogether to restructuring while re-evaluating each program with applied downsizing of staff and budget or being eliminated entirely. This is still very fluid at this time. A trend has already emerged if you look at the current percentage of reduction being applied in many of the federal agencies. It is 6-8% right now and could potentially go higher.
February 20 – Firefighter Close Calls. “New Federal layoffs include NIOSH, LODD investigators, firefighter cancer registry staff, USFA and more”. While the impact on all of these groups is concerning, the cancer registry hit is a gut punch. It took years to get this pulled together and hinged on a mechanism that could reach out nationality, the capacity to build and manage a highly secure database, and the staffing and funding to keep it going. It came down to NIOSH which is where the registry is located. We are now at a crossroads of uncertainty for its future. I encourage you to reach out to your legislators at the federal level and make them aware of the vital role NIOSH and the Cancer Registry play in better understanding firefighter health and safety related to reducing firefighter injury and death.
If you are interested in assisting, please email me directly for some cut/paste language examples you may use. One of those is a joint statement from NVFC. If you are willing to assist, contact me at keith.smith1974@yahoo.com and I will reply with your options. Your subject line can be NVFC Assist.
NVFC reached out to each state that had a Senator involved with the Secretary of Labor hearing requesting we ask our Senator to ask a question of Lori M. Chavez-DeRemer, the nomination for Labor Secretary. Missouri was asked because Senator Hawley was on the committee which was completed as requested in advance of the hearing. Senator Collins from Maine was the first to get the question presented. I have edited the question slightly due to length – “I have heard a great deal of concern from volunteer firefighters regarding the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) proposed Emergency Response Standard. These volunteer firefighters have informed me that this proposed standard would only be feasible for large career departments to comply with due to their draconian administrative requirements and costly nature. I also understand that, if adopted without major revision, the proposed standard could cause many small rural volunteer departments to close.”
“If confirmed, would you commit to working with volunteer firefighters across the country on formulating an approach within OSHA’s jurisdiction that would improve firefighter safety without compromising emergency response capabilities in rural America”?
I was able to watch that exchange on YouTube and Lori did not directly say “YES” but that she would be reviewing all standards, especially those being proposed to see if they were excessively burdensome and cost effective. Well, at least she did not say no. She was likely aware that labor fully supports all of the proposed standards. By the way, I had to look up the definition of “Draconian” and it means – “excessively harsh and severe”. DC continues to speak a revised language outside of plain English.
Now in other news, a reminder there are numerous benefits to individual NVFC membership. The annual dues for 2025 are $24.00 and include AD&D coverage. New NVFC Virtual Classroom courses continue to be developed for their membership.
Some 2024 Highlights, NVFC had an incredibly productive year! Legislative wins included the Reauthorization of AFG/SAFER/US Fire Administration. Passage of the Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act (remember my earlier comments). Membership Growth concluded 2024 with 37,390 individual members. Welcomed New Mexico back as the 48th state member.
Program & Resources launched new initiatives, including the State Farm Good Neighbor Firefighter Safety Program which will be returning in 2025 with $1.5 M for 150 Fire Safety Grants. Nutella’s “Stacks for Giving” will be returning in 2025 with $25-K in grants. Tractor Supply provided funding that is helping support several NVFC efforts. Anheuser Bush has agreed to 1.5 million cans of Emergency Drinking Water for the Wildland Firefighters program in 2025.
NVFC secured 2 federal and 2 private/corporate grant applications. Completed 65 live, in-person training events held in 27 states. Released new tools including the Family Guide, Volunteer Value Calculators, and PBS featured: Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat. Expanded virtual learning, including a Leadership Track and training for firefighter families.
Thank you for your time plus allowing Rob and I to serve on your behalf with NVFC.
FFAM
