Town Cited for OSHA Violations after Lack of Safety Boots

The town was recently cited on safety violations after denying the fire marshal's request for protective boots for a deputy they wrongly believed was quitting.

After Fire Marshal Henry Stormer filed a complaint, OSHA issued three citations Sept. 7 to the town for failing to supply protective equipment and failing to ascertain and document workplace hazards — in this case, broken glass, nails and jagged metal found at fire scenes.

Stormer said Treasurer William Sarosky agreed to pay for the $100 boots for Deputy Fire Marshal Russ Tolles in June.  Though he initially denied the request, Sarosky approved payment after being shown codes saying the footwear was necessary given the dangerous objects Tolles walks around on fire calls.

When Stormer went to retrieve the boots from an outfitter in Danbury, he said that the order had been cancelled without anyone telling him.  Stormer filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which carried out an inspection of the Fire Marshal's office on Aug. 16.

The notices do not come with a financial penalty, but require the town to fix the violations by Oct. 25.  First Selectman Bill Davis said they have already complied, and the new boots have arrived.

Davis said the town cancelled the order because they believed Tolles intended to leave his position for a police dispatcher job and that the boots would not be necessary.

Davis said he did not know why Stormer wasn't told the order had been cancelled, and said Stormer should have resubmitted his request for boots.  He said that the problem was one of information that "slipped through the cracks."

Stormer said that Tolles had turned down the dispatch job the same day Sarosky authorized the purchase and that he had advised the town of the fact.  Stormer said he was aggravated by the feeling that officials were ignoring his safety advice in spite of his decades-long experience in dealing with — and teaching — OSHA standards.

"The [dispatch] job had already been turned down at that point, [town hall] just decided that they needed to be involved in an issue that really jeopardized Mr. Tolles' safety," said Stormer.  "They can do whatever they want, but in the end $20 an hour is not enough to go out and step on a nail or slip in hazardous materials or get electrocuted at a fire scene because he doesn't have the proper footwear on."

Davis said the town's actions were standard oversight.

"[Stormer] has trouble understanding that there is someone he answers to," said Davis.

Davis said blame should not be directed solely at the town government, since the violations occurred in Stormer's office.

"This is a reflection on the town, but also on the Fire Marshal's office," said Davis.

Stormer disagreed, saying  that the town is the legally responsible party and does not have a comprehensive strategy to ensure safety compliance in any of its offices.

"The OSHA requirements are put on the employer, not the employee," said Stormer.