Background

Emergency responders face considerable occupational health and safety hazards in dynamic and unpredictable work environments. Current OSHA emergency response and preparedness standards are outdated and do not address the full range of hazards facing emergency responders. They lag behind changes in protective equipment performance and industry practices, are not consistent with industry consensus standards, and are not aligned with many current emergency response guidelines provided by other federal agencies. 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

In February 2024, OSHA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that seeks to ensure Emergency Responders get the protections they deserve from the hazards they are exposed to while performing their duties. The proposed rule would replace OSHA's existing Fire Brigades standard, 29 CFR 1910.156, which was originally promulgated in 1980, covers firefighting activities only, and has only had minor updates since it was published. It does not provide protections for emergency responders involved in emergency medical service (EMS) activities or technical search and rescue.

The focus of the Emergency Response proposed rule is to provide basic workplace protections for workers who respond to emergencies as part of their regularly assigned duties. It would expand the scope of the existing standard to include a broad range of hazards emergency responders encounter during emergency response activities. It would also align the standard with FEMA’s emergency preparedness and response guidelines and with NFPA standards on the safe conduct of emergency response activities. Notably, the scope of protected workers under the proposed rule would be expanded beyond just firefighters to include workers who provide EMS and technical search and rescue. 

Public Input

OSHA received more than 4,000 comments from public stakeholders and stakeholder organizations in response to the NPRM. In November-December 2024, OSHA hosted 11 days of informal public hearings where stakeholders and organization representatives provided testimony regarding the proposed rule and shared how it could potentially impact them, their members, organizations, communities, and constituents. Following the hearing, the agency received additional written comments and data in support of, and in response to, the hearing testimony.

Next Steps

OSHA is reviewing and evaluating all the comments and data submitted by stakeholders and the transcripts from the hearing. This important step in the rulemaking process helps guide the agency as it considers how to proceed with the rulemaking.