Heating Oil News
Support urged for oil heat licensing
April 25, 2013
Letter to the Editor:
Right now, anyone in New Hampshire can claim they are competent to repair or install oil heating equipment in your home. No license is required to do this work. Only those working on propane or natural gas equipment must demonstrate a minimum level of competency and must have a license.
State Reps. Mary Nelson, Daniel Hansberry and Efstathia Booras, all of Nashua, and members of the House Executive Departments and Administration Committee can change this inequality.
Senate Bill 189, now in their committee, requires mandatory licensing to work on oil heat equipment. Their committee’s “yes” vote will be one more step toward a full vote by the House.
Firefighters who are also House members, such as Rep. Brian Rhodes, of Nashua Fire Rescue, also should support SB189.
Fire departments are visible and vocal when it comes time to ask for resources from the community to do their job. The same effort applied toward supporting passage of this bill would demonstrate commitment to equal safety protection for all in the community.
Finally, committee members who chose to vote “no” or not vote on the bill can count themselves in the company of a former Republican legislator who said that licensing was “just more red tape.”
Steven Lapinskas
Nashua
