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Fire chief urges, board approves update to appearance policy on tattoos and piercings
Summary
The board approved an update to the fire departmentappearance policy (p11o5) to address tattoos and allow small nose studs while on duty, aligning the rule with NFPA guidance; the proposal passed by voice/roll call at the meeting.
The Fire Chief asked the board to approve an update to the department's appearance policy (p11o5), saying the policy previously did not address tattoos and needed to be aligned with fire-service guidance.
"Our policy never addressed tattoos, and then it did address piercings," the Fire Chief said, and added that policy language from the police department had been incorporated. On nose piercings, the chief said the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) guidance informed the change: "Essentially, they can have that, but they can only have a 2 millimeter gem size while they're on duty or doing fire department activities." The chief also said NFPA guidance notes that a removed nose piercing can close within about five hours.
A board member moved to approve the policy update and the motion was seconded. The board recorded the vote with members voting "aye" in sequence: Jerry Baffa, Doctor Dershowitz, Linda Dunn, Steve [Levickin/Monnicki], and Doctor Brown. The motion carried.
The revision formally places tattoo standards and a limited piercing allowance into the fire department's written appearance policy. The policy change will affect uniformed personnel and is intended to harmonize local rules with NFPA safety considerations.
Next steps: the approved policy update will be implemented by the department; the board did not specify an implementation date at the meeting.
