1891 Williston Road,
South Burlington,
05403
Vermont,
United States
Hazard Description: Starting November 2, 2020, Officers were advised we had mandatory Use of Force Training. This training is to take place every week for approximately 4 hours a session at the UFAI training facility in South Burlington, VT. This is a small area inside a building that has mats all over the floor to practice and train jujitsu. This type of training consists of hands on partner on partner, MMA type of training. After talking with several other Officers/employees it was determined we are ALL quite concerned about doing this training during this pandemic, not to mention the Governor's Orders. We will not be maintaining a 6 feet distance and there will be sweating bodies on top of each other while being in an enclosed area. Although it was advised we would be wearing masks and gloves while we are one on one with another person on a mat. We all believe that this training should be put on HOLD until this pandemic is over as a lot of us have infants, kids, and even elders that live with us and do not want to take any chances in getting Covid. We were all very caught off guard with the fact that we are told it is "mandatory" however we are all under the impression of the Governors's Orders and have been safely following them. This would put us in danger as being in a small, enclosed area with several other employees sweating and grappling with one another. And who knows if someone in the group may be a carrier of Covid. We have employees that live in NY and commute to work here in Vermont. This was brought to Deputy Chief's attention approximately 2 months ago and at that time they decided to hold off. Now with an uptick in Covid cases and we are still under the Governor's Orders we are extremely concerned by the Police Depts actions to go forward with this type of training that goes against all orders or commons sense to keep this pandemic under control. Location: United Fighting Arts Institute 1891 Williston Rd #31 South Burlington, VT 05403
Source: Osha.gov | Receipt Date: 2020-10-24 | Symptoms: Sweating
