Subchapter 18. Ship Building, Ship Repairing and Ship Breaking Safety Orders
Article 8. Miscellaneous Safe Practices

§8397.12. Fire Response.

(a) Employer responsibilities. The employer shall:

(1) Decide what type of response will be provided and who will provide it; and

(2) Create, maintain, and update a written policy that:

(A) Describes the internal and outside fire response organizations that the employer will use; and

(B) Defines what evacuation procedures employees shall follow, if the employer chooses to require a total or partial evacuation of the worksite at the time of a fire.

(b) Required written policy information.

(1) Internal fire response. If an internal fire response is to be used, the employer shall include the following information in the employer's written policy:

(A) The basic structure of the fire response organization;

(B) The number of trained fire response employees;

(C) The fire response functions that may need to be carried out;

(D) The minimum number of fire response employees necessary, the number and types of apparatuses, and a description of the fire suppression operations established by written standard operating procedures for each type of fire response at the employer's facility;

(E) The type, amount, and frequency of training that shall be given to fire response employees; and

(F) The procedures for using protective clothing and equipment.

(2) Outside fire response. If an outside fire response organization is used, the employer shall include the following information in the written policy:

(A) The types of fire suppression incidents to which the fire response organization is expected to respond at the employer's facility or worksite;

(B) The liaisons between the employer and the outside fire response organizations; and

(C) A plan for fire response functions that:

1. Addresses procedures for obtaining assistance from the outside fire response organization;

2. Familiarizes the outside fire response organization with the layout of the employer's facility or worksite, including access routes to controlled areas, and site-specific operations, occupancies, vessels or vessel sections, and hazards; and,

3. Sets forth how hose and coupling connection threads are to be made compatible and includes where the adapter couplings are kept; or

4. States that the employer will not allow the use of incompatible hose connections.

(3) A combination of internal and outside fire response. If a combination of internal and outside fire response is to be used, the employer shall include the following information, in addition to the requirements in subsections (b)(1) and (2) of this section, in the written policy:

(A) The basic organizational structure of the combined fire response;

(B) The number of combined trained fire responders;

(C) The fire response functions that may need to be carried out;

(D) The minimum number of fire response employees necessary, the number and types of apparatuses, and a description of the fire suppression operations established by written standard operating procedures for each particular type of fire response at the worksite; and

(E) The type, amount, and frequency of joint training with outside fire response organizations if given to fire response employees.

(4) Employee evacuation. The employer shall include the following information in the employer's written policy:

(A) Emergency escape procedures;

(B) Procedures to be followed by employees who may remain longer at the worksite to perform critical shipyard employment operations during the evacuation;

(C) Procedures to account for all employees after emergency evacuation is completed;

(D) The preferred means of reporting fires and other emergencies; and

(E) Names or job titles of the employees or departments to be contacted for further information or explanation of duties.

(5) Rescue and emergency response. The employer shall include the following information in the employer's written policy:

(A) A description of the emergency rescue procedures; and

(B) Names or job titles of the employees who are assigned to perform them.

(c) Medical requirements for shipyard fire response employees. The employer shall ensure that:

(1) All fire response employees receive medical examinations to assure that they are physically and medically fit for the duties they are expected to perform;

(2) Fire response employees, who are required to wear respirators in performing their duties, meet the medical requirements of Section 5144 of the General Industry Safety Orders;

(3) Each fire response employee has an annual medical examination; and

(4) The medical records of fire response employees are kept in accordance with Section 3204 of the General Industry Safety Orders.

(d) Organization of internal fire response functions. The employer shall:

(1) Organize fire response functions to ensure enough resources to conduct emergency operations safely;

(2) Establish lines of authority and assign responsibilities to ensure that the components of the internal fire response are accomplished;

(3) Set up an incident management system to coordinate and direct fire response functions, including:

(A) Specific fire emergency responsibilities;

(B) Accountability for all fire response employees participating in an emergency operation; and

(C) Resources offered by outside organizations; and

(4) Provide the information required in this subsection (d) to the outside fire response organization to be used.

(e) Personal protective clothing and equipment for fire response employees.

(1) General requirements. The employer shall:

(A) Supply to all fire response employees, at no cost, the appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment they may need to perform expected duties; and

(B) Ensure that fire response employees wear the appropriate personal protective clothing and use the equipment, when necessary, to protect them from hazardous exposures.

(2) Thermal stability and flame resistance. The employer shall:

(A) Ensure that each fire response employee exposed to the hazards of flame does not wear clothing that could increase the extent of injury that could be sustained; and

(B) Prohibit wearing clothing made from acetate, nylon, or polyester, either alone or in blends, unless it can be shown that:

(C) The fabric will withstand the flammability hazard that may be encountered; or

(D) The clothing will be worn in such a way to eliminate the flammability hazard that may be encountered.

(3) Respiratory protection. The employer shall:

(A) Provide self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) to all fire response employees involved in an emergency operation in an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH), potentially IDLH, or unknown;

(B) Provide SCBA to fire response employees performing emergency operations during hazardous chemical emergencies that will expose them to known hazardous chemicals in vapor form or to unknown chemicals;

(C) Provide fire response employees who perform or support emergency operations that will expose them to hazardous chemicals in liquid form either:

1. SCBA, or

2. Respiratory protective devices certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under 42 CFR Part 84 as suitable for the specific chemical environment;

(D) Ensure that additional outside air supplies used in conjunction with SCBA result in positive pressure systems that are certified by NIOSH under 42 CFR Part 84;

(E) Provide only SCBA that meet the requirements of NFPA 1981, Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus for Fire and Emergency Services, 2002 Edition, which is hereby incorporated by reference; and

(F) Ensure that the respiratory protection program and all respiratory protection equipment comply with Section 5144 of the General Industry Safety Orders.

(4) Interior structural firefighting operations. The employer shall:

(A) Supply at no cost to all fire response employees exposed to the hazards of shipyard fire response, a helmet, gloves, footwear, and protective hoods, and either a protective coat and trousers or a protective coverall; and

(B) Ensure that this equipment meets the applicable recommendations in NFPA 1971, Standard on Protective Ensemble for Structural Fire Fighting, 2000 Edition, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

(5) Proximity firefighting operations. The employer shall provide, at no cost, to all fire response employees who are exposed to the hazards of proximity firefighting, appropriate protective proximity clothing that meets the applicable recommendations in NFPA 1976, Standard on Protective Ensemble for Proximity Fire Fighting, 2000 Edition, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

(6) Life safety ropes, body harnesses, and hardware. The employer shall ensure that:

(A) All life safety ropes, body harnesses, and hardware used by fire response employees for emergency operations meet the applicable recommendations in NFPA 1983, Standard on Fire Service Life Safety Rope and System Components, 2001 Edition, which is hereby incorporated by reference;

(B) Fire response employees use only Class I body harnesses to attach to ladders and aerial devices; and

(C) Fire response employees use only Class II and Class III body harnesses for fall arrest and rappelling operations.

(7) Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) devices. The employer shall:

(A) Provide each fire response employee involved in firefighting operations with a PASS device; and

(B) Ensure that each PAS device meets the recommendations in NFPA 1982-1998 Standard on Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS), which is hereby incorporated be reference.

(f) Equipment maintenance.

(1) Personal protective equipment. The employer shall inspect and maintain personal protective equipment used to protect fire response employees to ensure that it provides the intended protection.

(2) Fire response equipment. The employer shall:

(A) Keep fire response equipment in a state of readiness;

(B) Standardize all fire hose coupling and connection threads throughout the facility and on vessels and vessel sections by providing the same type of hose coupling and connection threads for hoses of the same or similar diameter; and

(C) Ensure that either all fire hoses and coupling connection threads are the same within a facility or vessel or vessel section as those used by the outside fire response organization, or supply suitable adapter couplings if such an organization is expected to use the fire response equipment within a facility or vessel or vessel section.

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