Navigating Firefighter Training Liability and OSHA’s Proposed Recommendations

A primary objective of any fire department is loss prevention: the prevention of loss of life, quality of life, property, and environmental integrity. Training is a key part in ensuring firefighters are not only prepared to protect the lives of the communities they serve but their own and each other’s. Understanding the true liability risks related to training in this demanding profession and keeping up with evolving industry training standards is key to preventing loss and mitigating liability.

Firehouse recently hosted a webinar sponsored by Vector Solutions on the important topic of training liability in the fire service and the potential impact of OSHA’s proposed Emergency Response Standard 29 CFR §1910.156 on fire departments. Curt Varone, retired Deputy Assistant Chief (Shift Commander) with more than 40 years of fire service experience and a licensed attorney practicing in Maine and Rhode Island, joined Firehouse’ editor-in-chief, Peter Matthews, for the riveting discussion.

Keep reading for a highlight of the essential topics discussed, along with expert insights.

Liability Myths in Firefighter Training

Varone kicked off the discussion by dispelling common myths about liability in firefighter training.

Contrary to popular belief, he explained that, according to his database of over 13,500 fire department cases, fire-related training accounts for only about 2% of litigation in the fire service.

Lawsuits citing negligent training that led to problems like an apparatus accident, improperly followed fireground procedures, or an EMS provider not adhering to protocols only make up another 1.2% of cases. While negligent training allegations are often dismissed early in proceedings, he clarified, problems arise when the fire department has no training records to support their defense.

HR-related training, not operational training, Varone revealed, makes up the largest slice of the litigation pie, at about 71% of training-related cases.

“Our biggest liability is HR, and that includes at the academy. The problems that we’re having are not operational when it comes to training, they’re HR-related,” Varone emphasized.

According to Varone, there are 10 primary subject areas that make up the biggest concerns regarding HR-related training in the fire service. The number one concern that is most likely to lead to litigation may be a surprise: discipline, he said, whether it’s someone that feels they’ve been wrongly disciplined or that the discipline was an act of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, or race discrimination. Sexual harassment, gender, and race discrimination follow discipline on his top 10 HR suits list, respectively.

Varone noted that workers’ compensation is probably the top concern but remarked that it’s so nuanced and not all states handle it the same, which makes it difficult to evaluate and would dwarf all other types of cases if considered.

Documentation: A Key Defense Against Liability

Highlighting how documentation can be a critical defense against litigation, Varone recommended that fire departments keep accurate records of training failures and corrective actions rather than only recording successful completions.

It is a popular misconception that documents that negatively portray a firefighter should not be retained, Varone asserted, emphasizing that such documentation is essential for transparency and defending against discrimination claims.

In order to be admissible in court, evidence must be relevant and cannot be prejudicial and confusing to the jury. Varone proposed, “If a paramedic flunks a certain skill station and there’s documentation that he flunked, they go back a week later and flunk it again, and then they go back again and pass it.… How would the fact that they failed a skill station twice be relevant…?”

When it comes to HR-related cases, defending against discrimination is made more difficult when only successful completions are recorded.

“The failure to document failures can result in us not being able to prove that we did not discriminate against somebody in a later case…. And that means we’ve got to show that maybe at a certain skill station, they were not the only ones that flunked that skill station,” Varone explained.

Varone also touched on training-related line of duty deaths and the liability of well-intended fire instructors. He propositioned that officers likely are not adequately trained to recognize both psychological and physiological signs that someone is being pushed to the point of “rhabdo” (short for Rhabdomyolysis), heat stroke, dehydration, or other life-threatening conditions.

Varone supported his position by briefly reviewing cases likely to make headlines, followed by an in-depth look at a specific case study on race, gender, and retaliation. Watch the recording for details and the top three lessons learned.

Exploring the Liability Impact of OSHA’s Proposed Emergency Response Standard

Before diving into OSHA’s proposed emergency response standard, Varone reviewed negligence and criminal law to better understand the legal implications.

For there to be negligence, we must fail to live up to the reasonably prudent person standard. Firefighters fall into a special class of this standard called ‘reasonably prudent professional standard of like skill and training,’ which allows juries to determine what would be considered reasonable based on skills and training.

The four sources of information that are routinely allowed into court, Varone described, are:

1. Expert testimony
2. Learned treaties
3. Laws and regulations
4. Industry-wide standards

“OSHA regulations are part of what a jury is going to consider in terms of whether or not we met the professional standard of care,” Varone said. The industry-wide source, he continued, would consider NFPA standards, meaning not following OSHA and NFPA standards could be considered in a court of law in a negligence suit.

OSHA’s existing standard provides minimal requirements for the fire service. This proposed update increases requirements by aligning OSHA closer with NFPA.

Varone clarified, “They’re moving closer together and it’s going to be harder to argue that we didn’t necessarily need to do what NFPA says. So, the NFPA standard becomes more important in the standard of care analysis.”

The new OSHA requirements may also impact liability with a greater possibility of fines or citations in state plan states.

Varone called out the new requirements in the proposed updates to OSHA’s training requirements for firefighters, which include:

• Increase to certain minimal training requirements
• Vocational training, requiring NFPA 1000, 1002, and 1021
• NFPA 1140 or red card training is going to be required
• Annual skill check requirement

While most career departments are not likely to be challenged to comply, Varone continued, many volunteer departments will.

Embracing Technology to Streamline Compliance and Strengthen Readiness

“My department, we’ve been using TargetSolutions (Vector Solutions’ training management system) for about 15 years,” Varone continued. “It’s been a good solution for us.”

Varone highlighted how TargetSolutions can assist departments in meeting these enhanced standards. By allowing firefighters to complete classroom components online and record hands-on skill assessments on the integrated mobile app, departments can ensure thorough training documentation that aligns with NFPA and OSHA standards.

Digital tools like TargetSolutions help streamline training, compliance, and documentation to give you total oversight and insight into the success of your training program with flexible, feature-rich functionality and quality online training courses designed for the fire service.

Deliver, track, and report on every minute of training—online, in person, and live skill—and achieve 100% training management in one place.

This session served as a reminder that while liability concerns exist, a proactive approach focused on detailed documentation, consistent standards, and compliance with evolving regulations can mitigate risks and support fire service leadership in maintaining a safe, fair, and legally sound training environment.

Request a demo to learn more about how TargetSolutions and Vector Solutions personnel operational readiness suite can help boost compliance and readiness at your department.