NVFC Report
Public hearing testimony for the proposed OSHA Emergency Response Standard started in mid-November and concluded on December 4th. They are now back to requesting follow-up public comments until January 17. Theories on how this will play out following the election vary widely. Labor started and strongly supported this initiative while supporting Biden for President. Now they are trying to work with a new administration they did not officially support which will include a new Secretary of Labor making for some interesting theater in DC right now. For the volunteers in the 29 impacted states, it did become clearer during the course of the public hearing that OSHA is now seeking as much hard data as possible to enable them to see a more informed picture of the volunteer fire service. WOW! Look at OSHA finally realizing they were totally clueless about volunteers and NOW they have an interest in knowing more. Keep in mind this has been going on for a full year. NVFC only became fully aware of this the week before Christmas of 2023. One of the State Directors spent most of his Christmas holiday reading and trying to digest the 600+ pages of the proposed standard.
CEO Sarah Lee has announced that Abena Bonso-Bruce has been selected as NVFC’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Abena is a long-time volunteer with her own local department, has spent years volunteering for her county’s R&R Committee, spent 7 years at the International Association of Fire Chiefs managing people and programs, and has taught nationally about recruitment and retention. She is an experienced association executive with extensive expertise in finance, HR, program/people management, and growth.
While the window in making an application as an AFG, SAFER and FP&G grant reviewer has closed for this cycle (December 9), there will be other opportunities. NVFC is one of nine national organizations that annually appoint representatives to serve as peer reviewers for the AFG, SAFER and FP&S grant programs through FEMA. There is a major shortage of volunteer peer reviewers. It is critical for the volunteer fire service that AFG, SAFER and FP&S grant applications are reviewed by someone who understands the volunteer perspective. Granted giving up a week of your schedule to review grant applications is a huge commitment, but if you can spare this time in the future, please email Ryan (ryan@nvfc.org) and he will send you the link for the application to get you registered in the NVFC’s peer reviewer database. Note, that you must be a member of NVFC to be recommended. Three names were approved from Missouri for this cycle in early December.
With everything costing more, it comes as no surprise that NVFC’s annual membership will be increasing from $21 to $24 on January 1 and includes AD&D coverage. New NVFC Virtual Classroom courses continue to be developed. Their latest is the UL 217 Smoke Alarm Standard. This course was sponsored by First Alert and the content was created by their subject matter experts.
Their webinar projects have also increased in frequency, now averaging 2-3 per month.
January 16 — Actions Firefighters Can Take to Reduce Cancer Risks – 1 pm Eastern
January 22 — Community Risk Reduction for Fire Departments – Strategies for a Safer Community – 2 pm Eastern
January 30 — R&R Coffee Talk: Supporting Families – 7 pm Eastern
Thank you for your time plus allowing Rob and I to serve on your behalf with NVFC.
FFAM
