FORESTBURGH  — The town officially joined the county in the denoucement of the proposed OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Emergency Response Standard changes for firematics after a resolution was passed Thursday night.

Town Supervisor Dan Hogue Jr. was joined by fellow board members in passing the legislation, saying that “the Town of Forestburgh’s emergency response leaders have shared grave concerns with one another”, leading up to its adoption.

“The proposal’s ‘one size fits all’ approach makes it virtually impossible for rural fire districts to implement without significant tax hikes and costly procedural changes,” the resolution said, “including the hiring of clerical staff and as much as a 40 percent increase in annual budgets in order to maintain compliance.”

The resolution continues on to request that the review period for the proposal is extended to September 21, as previously requested by the Sullivan County Legislature. Additionally, the resolution requested that Federal representatives, such as U.S. Congressman Marc Molinaro (NY-19), join in advocating for an OSHA proposal that is “technically and economically” feasible for small-sized emergency response agencies.”

The Congressman has previously denounced the changes as well.

“Unlike New York City and other big cities, communities in Upstate New York fully rely on volunteers,” Molinaro said in a statment back in July. 

“Herein lies the issue – as costs have risen, recruitment has gone down, and budgets have tightened. Fire departments in Upstate New York, especially those in rural communities, are already hanging by a thread.”