By Roger Adkins, Coal Valley News
JULIAN, W.Va. — The 2024 West Virginia Firemen’s Convention, held from August 8-10 at the Running Right Conference Center in Julian, brought together fire service leaders, volunteers, and experts from across the state.
Hosted by Boone and Logan counties, the event featured a range of discussions focused on the challenges and opportunities facing volunteer fire departments in West Virginia.
A significant portion of the convention was dedicated to discussing new Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) standards that could potentially impact volunteer fire departments. Doug Mongold, chief of the Moorefield Volunteer Fire Department and chairman of the executive board of the W.Va. Firemen’s Association, highlighted the confusion surrounding these standards.
“Probably the biggest discussion of the whole convention was the new OSHA standards for training,” Mongold stated.
The standards, currently in an extended comment period, have raised concerns due to their potential to require over 1,000 additional hours of training per year for each volunteer firefighter. This requirement, Mongold warned, could devastate volunteer fire departments across the state, potentially leading to widespread closures.
