Firefighter Probe Team Axed in HHS Cuts

The NIOSH team that examines the operation and circumstances following a line-of-duty death involving a firefighter has been fired.
At the time of Tuesday’s HHS/DOGE action, the NIOSH team was working on at least two dozen firefighter fatality investigations, according to news reports.
Created by Congress in 1998, investigators from the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program have travelled across the country to examine fire scenes.
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OSHA has reportedly dropped its citation and $10,000 penalty assessed on Inland Crane for its involvement in the deadly collapse of a hangar under construction at Idaho’s Boise Airport.
The collapse in January 2024 of a steel aircraft hangar at the airport was blamed on an “appalling disregard of safety standards” by the contractor, Big D Builders.
Three men were killed in the incident and eight others were injured.
The contractor shouldered most of the citations and fines issued by OSHA when the agency concluded its investigation last summer. Officials recommended fines totaling nearly $200,000 against the company for four violations of federal safety regulations.
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Members of the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) lobbied Congressional legislators on Wednesday pushing for reauthorization of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, which expires on Sept. 30, 2026.
The group’s legislative “fly-in” focused on legislative priorities regarding the surface transportation reauthorization, the Highway Safety Improvement Program and the future of the Highway Trust Fund.
ATSSA said its funding priorities include work zone safety, rural road safety, tribal road safety, and roadway safety devices.
The lobbying trip comes ahead of National Work Zone Awareness Week, an annual spring campaign held at the start of construction season to encourage safe driving through highway work zones.
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