New York firefighters are sounding the alarm over proposed changes by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). They say volunteer firefighting efforts across the state could go up in smoke.

“None of us that disagree that firefighter safety is the most important thing that we have going,” said Dave Denniston, a longtime firefighter in Central New York who is chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council’s OSHA Task Force.

OSHA wants to double basic training to 300 hours for volunteer firefighters, which some fear could complicate persisting recruitment and retention issues.

“The dynamic back in the day was one family member was working so mom and dad could spend their time at the firehouse,” Cicero Fire Department Assistant Chief John Barrett said. “Now, you’ve got two family members working sometimes two jobs.”

Another proposal would require more classwork for fire chiefs, including courses that are not offered in New York.

“Some of the stuff would take place immediately, some of the stuff would take place within six months,” Denniston explained. “And some of it in their timeline would have to be required in 24 months.”

In the interest of improving standards that are “outdated and incomplete,” OSHA is also looking to change firefighting health screenings and other mandates and administrative requirements the Firefighters Association of New York believes will increase operational costs.

“That’s going to raise my tax budget by 42%,” Denniston said. “Now, I would be forced to go back to my taxpayers and say your taxes are going to go up 42%.”

OSHA is accepting public comment on the proposals through July 22. Firefighters say each fire department faces its own unique challenges and therefore shouldn’t be subject to what they call one-size-fits-all all regulations.

“You know, the city of Syracuse is going to have the same requirements that I have in the small town of Virgil with a $280,000 budget,” Denniston said. “It just doesn’t economically work.”