29 Cfr 1915.501-.509

Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
(d) A certification record of such examinations and tests made in compliance with the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section shall
be maintained. The certification record
shall include the date of examinations
and tests, the signature of the person
who performed the examinations or
tests and the serial number, or other
identifier, of the equipment examined
and tested.

Subpart L—Electrical Machinery
§ 1915.181 Electrical circuits and distribution boards.
(a) The provisions of this section
shall apply to ship repairing and shipbuilding and shall not apply to
shipbreaking.
(b) Before an employee is permitted
to work on an electrical circuit, except
when the circuit must remain energized for testing and adjusting, the circuit shall be deenergized and checked
at the point at which the work is to be
done to insure that it is actually deenergized. When testing or adjusting an
energized circuit a rubber mat, duck
board, or other suitable insulation
shall be used underfoot where an insulated deck does not exist.
(c) Deenergizing the circuit shall be
accomplished by opening the circuit
breaker, opening the switch, or removing the fuse, whichever method is appropriate. The circuit breaker, switch,
or fuse location shall be tagged to indicate that an employee is working on
the circuit. Such tags shall not be removed nor the circuit energized until it
is definitely determined that the work
on the circuit has been completed.
(d) When work is performed immediately adjacent to an open-front energized board or in back of an energized
board, the board shall be covered or
some other equally safe means shall be
used to prevent contact with any of the
energized parts.

[47 FR 16986, Apr. 20, 1982, as amended at 51
FR 34562, Sept. 29, 1986; 67 FR 44545, July 3,
2002]

§ 1915.173

§ 1915.501

Drums and containers.

(a) Shipping drums and containers
shall not be pressurized to remove
their contents.
(b) A temporarily assembled pressurized piping system conveying hazardous liquids or gases shall be provided with a relief valve and by-pass to
prevent rupture of the system and the
escape of such hazardous liquids or
gases.
(c) Pressure vessels, drums and containers containing toxic or flammable
liquids or gases shall not be stored or
used where they are subject to open
flame, hot metal, or other sources of
artificial heat.
(d) Unless pressure vessels, drums
and containers of 30 gallon capacity or
over containing flammable or toxic liquids or gases are placed in an out-ofthe-way area where they will not be
subject to physical injury from an outside source, barriers or guards shall be
erected to protect them from such
physical injury.
(e) Containers of 55 gallons or more
capacity containing flammable or toxic
liquid shall be surrounded by dikes or
pans which enclose a volume equal to
at least 35 percent of the total volume
of the containers.
(f) Fire extinguishers adequate in
number and suitable for the hazard
shall be provided. These extinguishers
shall be located in the immediate area
where pressure vessels, drums and containers containing flammable liquids
or gases are stored or in use. Such extinguishers shall be ready for use at all
times.

[47 FR 16986, Apr. 20, 1982, as amended at 67
FR 44545, July 3, 2002]

Subparts M–O [Reserved]
Subpart P—Fire Protection in
Shipyard Employment
SOURCE: 69 FR 55702, Sept. 15, 2004, unless
otherwise noted.

§ 1915.501 General provisions.
(a) Purpose. The purpose of the standard in this subpart is to require employers to protect all employees from
fire hazards in shipyard employment,
including employees engaged in fire response activities.
(b) Scope. This subpart covers employers with employees engaged in

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§ 1915.502

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–05 Edition)
(b) Plan elements. The employer must
include the following information in
the fire safety plan:
(1) Identification of the significant
fire hazards;
(2) Procedures for recognizing and reporting unsafe conditions;
(3) Alarm procedures;
(4) Procedures for notifying employees of a fire emergency;
(5) Procedures for notifying fire response organizations of a fire emergency;
(6) Procedures for evacuation;
(7) Procedures to account for all employees after an evacuation; and
(8) Names, job titles, or departments
for individuals who can be contacted
for further information about the plan.
(c) Reviewing the plan with employees.
The employer must review the plan
with each employee at the following
times:
(1) Within 90 days of December 14,
2004, for employees who are currently
working;
(2) Upon initial assignment for new
employees; and
(3) When the actions the employee
must take under the plan change because of a change in duties or a change
in the plan.
(d) Additional employer requirements.
The employer also must:
(1) Keep the plan accessible to employees, employee representatives, and
OSHA;
(2) Review and update the plan whenever necessary, but at least annually;
(3) Document that affected employees have been informed about the plan
as required by paragraph (c) of this section; and
(4) Ensure any outside fire response
organization that the employer expects
to respond to fires at the employer’s
worksite has been given a copy of the
current plan.
(e) Contract employers. Contract employers in shipyard employment must
have a fire safety plan for their employees, and this plan must comply
with the host employer’s fire safety
plan.

shipyard employment aboard vessels
and vessel sections, and on land-side
operations regardless of geographic location.
(c) Employee participation. The employer must provide ways for employees or employee representatives, or
both to participate in developing and
periodically reviewing programs and
policies adopted to comply with this
subpart.
(d) Multi-employer worksites. (1) Host
employer responsibilities. The host employer’s responsibilities are to:
(i) Inform all employers at the worksite about the content of the fire safety
plan including hazards, controls, fire
safety and health rules, and emergency
procedures;
(ii) Make sure the safety and health
responsibilities for fire protection are
assigned as appropriate to other employers at the worksite; and
(iii) If there is more than one host
employer, each host employer must
communicate
relevant
information
about fire-related hazards to other host
employers. When a vessel owner or operator (temporarily) becomes a host
shipyard employer by directing the
work of ships’ crews on repair or modification of the vessel or by hiring other
contractors directly, the vessel owner
or operator must also comply with
these provisions for host employers.
(2) Contract employer responsibilities.
The contract employer’s responsibilities are to:
(i) Make sure that the host employer
knows about the fire-related hazards
associated with the contract employer’s work and what the contract employer is doing to address them; and
(ii) Advise the host employer of any
previously
unidentified
fire-related
hazards that the contract employer
identifies at the worksite.
§ 1915.502

Fire safety plan.

(a) Employer responsibilities. The employer must develop and implement a
written fire safety plan that covers all
the actions that employers and employees must take to ensure employee
safety in the event of a fire. (See Appendix A to this subpart for a Model
Fire Safety Plan.)

§ 1915.503

Precautions for hot work.

(a) General requirements. (1) Designated
Areas. The employer may designate

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
areas for hot work in sites such as vessels, vessel sections, fabricating shops,
and subassembly areas that are free of
fire hazards.
(2) Non-designated Areas. (i) Before
authorizing hot work in a non-designated area, the employer must visually inspect the area where hot work
is to be performed, including adjacent
spaces, to ensure the area is free of fire
hazards, unless a Marine Chemist’s certificate or Shipyard Competent Person’s log is used for authorization.
(ii) The employer shall authorize employees to perform hot work only in
areas that are free of fire hazards, or
that have been controlled by physical
isolation, fire watches, or other positive means.

§ 1915.504

§ 1915.504

Fire watches.

(a) Written fire watch policy. The employer must create and keep current a
written policy that specifies the following requirements for employees performing fire watch in the workplace:
(1) The training employees must be
given (§ 1915.508(c) contains detailed
fire watch training requirements);
(2) The duties employees are to perform;
(3) The equipment employees must be
given; and
(4) The personal protective equipment (PPE) that must be made available and worn as required by 29 CFR
Part 1915, Subpart I.
(b) Posting fire watches. The employer
must post a fire watch if during hot
work any of the following conditions
are present:
(1) Slag, weld splatter, or sparks
might pass through an opening and
cause a fire;
(2) Fire-resistant guards or curtains
are not used to prevent ignition of
combustible materials on or near
decks,
bulkheads,
partitions,
or
overheads;
(3) Combustible material closer than
35 ft. (10.7m) to the hot work in either
the horizontal or vertical direction
cannot be removed, protected with
flame-proof covers, or otherwise shielded with metal or fire-resistant guards
or curtains;
(4) The hot work is carried out on or
near insulation, combustible coatings,
or sandwich-type construction that
cannot be shielded, cut back, or removed, or in a space within a sandwich
type construction that cannot be
inerted;
(5) Combustible materials adjacent to
the opposite sides of bulkheads, decks,
overheads, metal partitions, or sandwich-type construction may be ignited
by conduction or radiation;
(6) The hot work is close enough to
cause ignition through heat radiation
or conduction on the following:
(i) Insulated pipes, bulkheads, decks,
partitions, or overheads; or
(ii) Combustible materials and/or
coatings;
(7) The work is close enough to unprotected combustible pipe or cable
runs to cause ignition; or

NOTE TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2): The requirements of paragraph (a)(2) apply to all hot
work operations in shipyard employment except those covered by § 1915.14.

(b) Specific requirements. (1) Maintaining fire hazard-free conditions. The employer must keep all hot work areas
free of new hazards that may cause or
contribute to the spread of fire. Unexpected energizing and energy release
are covered by 29 CFR 1915.181, Subpart
L. Exposure to toxic and hazardous
substances is covered in 29 CFR
1915.1000 through 1915.1450, subpart Z.
(2) Fuel gas and oxygen supply lines
and torches. The employer must make
sure that:
(i) No unattended fuel gas and oxygen
hose lines or torches are in confined
spaces;
(ii) No unattended charged fuel gas
and oxygen hose lines or torches are in
enclosed spaces for more than 15 minutes; and
(iii) All fuel gas and oxygen hose
lines are disconnected at the supply
manifold at the end of each shift;
(iv) All disconnected fuel gas and oxygen hose lines are rolled back to the
supply manifold or to open air to disconnect the torch; or extended fuel gas
and oxygen hose lines are not reconnected at the supply manifold unless
the lines are given a positive means of
identification when they were first
connected and the lines are tested
using a drop test or other positive
means to ensure the integrity of fuel
gas and oxygen burning system.

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29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–05 Edition)
(b) Required written policy information.
(1) Internal fire response. If an internal
fire response is to be used, the employer must include the following information in the employer’s written
policy:
(i) The basic structure of the fire response organization;
(ii) The number of trained fire response employees;
(iii) The fire response functions that
may need to be carried out;
(iv) 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;
(v) The type, amount, and frequency
of training that must be given to fire
response employees; and
(vi) The procedures for using protective clothing and equipment.
(2) Outside fire response. If an outside
fire response organization is used, the
employer must include the following
information in the written policy:
(i) The types of fire suppression incidents to which the fire response organization is expected to respond at the
employer’s facility or worksite;
(ii) The liaisons between the employer and the outside fire response organizations; and
(iii) A plan for fire response functions
that:
(A) Addresses procedures for obtaining assistance from the outside fire response organization;
(B) 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,
(C) Sets forth how hose and coupling
connection threads are to be made
compatible and includes where the
adapter couplings are kept; or
(D) 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 must include the
following information, in addition to

(8) A Marine Chemist, a Coast Guardauthorized person, or a shipyard Competent Person, as defined in 29 CFR
Part 1915, Subpart B, requires that a
fire watch be posted.
(c) Assigning employees to fire watch
duty. (1) The employer must not assign
other duties to a fire watch while the
hot work is in progress.
(2) Employers must ensure that employees assigned to fire watch duty:
(i) Have a clear view of and immediate access to all areas included in the
fire watch;
(ii) Are able to communicate with
workers exposed to hot work;
(iii) Are authorized to stop work if
necessary and restore safe conditions
within the hot work area;
(iv) Remain in the hot work area for
at least 30 minutes after completion of
the hot work, unless the employer or
its representative surveys the exposed
area and makes a determination that
there is no further fire hazard;
(v) Are trained to detect fires that
occur in areas exposed to the hot work;
(vi) Attempt to extinguish any incipient stage fires in the hot work area
that are within the capability of available equipment and within the fire
watch’s training qualifications, as defined in § 1915.508;
(vii) Alert employees of any fire beyond the incipient stage; and
(viii) If unable to extinguish fire in
the areas exposed to the hot work, activate the alarm.
(3) The employer must ensure that
employees assigned to fire watch are
physically capable of performing these
duties.
§ 1915.505 Fire response.
(a) Employer responsibilities. The employer must:
(1) Decide what type of response will
be provided and who will provide it;
and
(2) Create, maintain, and update a
written policy that:
(i) Describes the internal and outside
fire response organizations that the
employer will use; and
(ii) Defines what evacuation procedures employees must follow, if the
employer chooses to require a total or
partial evacuation of the worksite at
the time of a fire.

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
the requirements in paragraphs (b)(1)
and (2) of this section, in the written
policy:
(i) The basic organizational structure
of the combined fire response;
(ii) The number of combined trained
fire responders;
(iii) The fire response functions that
may need to be carried out;
(iv) 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
(v) The type, amount, and frequency
of joint training with outside fire response organizations if given to fire response employees.
(4) Employee evacuation. The employer
must include the following information
in the employer’s written policy:
(i) Emergency escape procedures;
(ii) Procedures to be followed by employees who may remain longer at the
worksite to perform critical shipyard
employment operations during the
evacuation;
(iii) Procedures to account for all
employees after emergency evacuation
is completed;
(iv) The preferred means of reporting
fires and other emergencies; and
(v) 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 must include the following
information in the employer’s written
policy:
(i) A description of the emergency
rescue procedures; and
(ii) Names or job titles of the employees who are assigned to perform
them.
(c) Medical requirements for shipyard
fire response employees. The employer
must 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 per-

§ 1915.505

forming their duties, meet the medical
requirements of § 1915.154;
(3) Each fire response employee has
an annual medical examination; and
(4) The medical records of fire response employees are kept in accordance with § 1915.1020.
(d) Organization of internal fire response functions. The employer must:
(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:
(i) Specific fire emergency responsibilities;
(ii) Accountability for all fire response employees participating in an
emergency operation; and
(iii) Resources offered by outside organizations; and
(4) Provide the information required
in this paragraph (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
must:
(i) Supply to all fire response employees, at no cost, the appropriate
personal protective clothing and equipment they may need to perform expected duties; and
(ii) 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 must:
(i) 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
(ii) Prohibit wearing clothing made
from acetate, nylon, or polyester, either alone or in blends, unless it can be
shown that:
(A) The fabric will withstand the
flammability hazard that may be encountered; or

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29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–05 Edition)

(B) The clothing will be worn in such
a way to eliminate the flammability
hazard that may be encountered.
(3) Respiratory protection. The employer must:
(i) 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;
(ii) 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;
(iii) Provide fire response employees
who perform or support emergency operations that will expose them to hazardous chemicals in liquid form either:
(A) SCBA, or
(B) 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;
(iv) 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;
(v) Provide only SCBA that meet the
requirements of NFPA 1981–1997 Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained
Breathing Apparatus for the Fire Service (incorporated by reference, see
§ 1915.5); and
(vi) Ensure that the respiratory protection program and all respiratory
protection equipment comply with
§ 1915.154.
(4) Interior structural firefighting operations. The employer must:
(i) 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
(ii) Ensure that this equipment meets
the applicable recommendations in
NFPA 1971–2000 Standard on Protective
Ensemble for Structural Fire Fighting
(incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5).
(5) Proximity firefighting operations.
The employer must provide, at no cost,
to all fire response employees who are

exposed to the hazards of proximity
firefighting, appropriate protective
proximity clothing meets the applicable recommendations in NFPA 1976–
2000 Standard on Protective Ensemble
for Proximity Fire Fighting (incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5).
(6) Personal Alert Safety System (PASS)
devices. The employer must:
(i) Provide each fire response employee involved in firefighting operations with a PASS device; and
(ii) Ensure that each PASS device
meets the recommendations in NFPA
1982–1998 Standard on Personal Alert
Safety Systems (PASS), (incorporated
by reference, see § 1915.5).
(7) Life safety ropes, body harnesses,
and hardware. The employer must ensure that:
(i) All life safety ropes, body harnesses, and hardware used by fire response employees for emergency operations meet the applicable recommendations in NFPA 1983–2001,
Standard on Fire Service Life Safety
Rope and System Components (incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5);
(ii) Fire response employees use only
Class I body harnesses to attach to ladders and aerial devices; and
(iii) Fire response employees use only
Class II and Class III body harnesses
for fall arrest and rappelling operations.
(f) Equipment maintenance. (1) Personal protective equipment. The employer must 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 must:
(i) Keep fire response equipment in a
state of readiness;
(ii) 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
(iii) 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

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an organization is expected to use the
fire response equipment within a facility or vessel or vessel section.

§ 1915.507

ployees remain in the space during the
discharge. The employer must retest
the atmosphere in accordance with
§ 1915.12 to ensure that the oxygen levels are safe for employees to enter.
(2) When testing a fixed extinguishing system does not involve a
total discharge of the systems extinguishing medium, the employer must
make sure that the system’s extinguishing medium is physically isolated
and that all employees not directly involved in the testing are evacuated
from the protected space.
(f) Conducting system maintenance. Before conducting maintenance on a fixed
extinguishing system, the employer
must ensure that the system is physically isolated.
(g) Using fixed manual extinguishing
systems for fire protection. If fixed manual extinguishing systems are used to
provide fire protection for spaces in
which the employees are working, the
employer must ensure that:
(1) Only authorized employees are allowed to activate the system;
(2) Authorized employees are trained
to operate and activate the systems;
and
(3) All employees are evacuated from
the protected spaces, and accounted
for, before the fixed manual extinguishing system is activated.

§ 1915.506 Hazards of fixed extinguishing systems on board vessels
and vessel sections.
(a) Employer responsibilities. The employer must comply with the provisions of this section whenever employees are exposed to fixed extinguishing
systems that could create a dangerous
atmosphere when activated in vessels
and vessel sections, regardless of geographic location.
(b) Requirements for automatic and
manual systems. Before any work is
done in a space equipped with fixed extinguishing systems, the employer
must either:
(1) Physically isolate the systems or
use other positive means to prevent the
systems’ discharge; or
(2) Ensure employees are trained to
recognize:
(i) Systems’ discharge and evacuation alarms and the appropriate escape routes; and
(ii) Hazards associated with the extinguishing systems and agents including the dangers of disturbing system
components and equipment such as piping, cables, linkages, detection devices,
activation devices, and alarm devices.
(c) Sea and dock trials. During trials,
the employer must ensure that all systems shall remain operational.
(d) Doors and hatches. The employer
must:
(1) Take protective measures to ensure that all doors, hatches, scuttles,
and other exit openings remain working and accessible for escape in the
event the systems are activated; and
(2) Ensure that all inward opening
doors, hatches, scuttles, and other potential barriers to safe exit are removed, locked open, braced, or otherwise secured so that they remain open
and accessible for escape if systems’
activation could result in a positive
pressure in the protected spaces sufficient to impede escape.
(e) Testing the system. (1) When testing a fixed extinguishing system involves a total discharge of extinguishing medium into a space, the employer must evacuate all employees
from the space and assure that no em-

§ 1915.507 Land-side fire protection
systems.
(a) Employer responsibilities. The employer must ensure all fixed and portable fire protection systems needed to
meet an OSHA standard for employee
safety or employee protection from fire
hazards in land-side facilities, including, but not limited to, buildings,
structures, and equipment, meet the
requirements of this section.
(b) Portable fire extinguishers and hose
systems. (1) The employer must select,
install, inspect, maintain, and test all
portable fire extinguishers according
to NFPA 10–1998 Standard for Portable
Fire Extinguishers (incorporated by
reference, see § 1915.5).
(2) The employer is permitted to use
Class II or Class III hose systems, in
accordance with NFPA 10–1998, as portable fire extinguishers if the employer
selects, installs, inspects, maintains,
and tests those systems according to

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29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–05 Edition)

the specific recommendations in NFPA
14–2000 Standard for the Installation of
Standpipe, Private Hydrant, and Hose
Systems (incorporated by reference,
see § 1915.5).
(c) General requirements for fixed extinguishing systems. The employer must:
(1) Ensure that any fixed extinguishing system component or extinguishing agent is approved by an OSHA
Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, meeting the requirements of 29
CFR 1910.7, for use on the specific hazards the employer expects it to control
or extinguish;
(2) Notify employees and take the
necessary precautions to ensure employees are safe from fire if for any
reason a fire extinguishing system
stops working, until the system is
working again;
(3) Ensure all repairs to fire extinguishing systems and equipment are
done by a qualified technician or mechanic;
(4) Provide and ensure employees use
proper personal protective equipment
when entering discharge areas in which
the atmosphere remains hazardous to
employee safety or health, or provide
safeguards to prevent employees from
entering those areas. See § 1915.12 for
additional requirements applicable to
safe entry into spaces containing dangerous atmospheres;
(5) Post hazard warning or caution
signs at both the entrance to and inside of areas protected by fixed extinguishing systems that use extinguishing agents in concentrations
known to be hazardous to employee
safety or health; and
(6) Select, install, inspect, maintain,
and test all automatic fire detection
systems and emergency alarms according to NFPA 72–1999 National Fire
Alarm Code (incorporated by reference,
see § 1915.5).
(d) Fixed extinguishing systems. The
employer must select, install, maintain, inspect, and test all fixed systems
required by OSHA as follows:
(1) Standpipe and hose systems according to NFPA 14–2000 Standard for
the Installation of Standpipe, Private
Hydrant, and Hose Systems (incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5);
(2) Automatic sprinkler systems according to NFPA 25–2002 Standard for

the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-based Fire Protection
Systems, (incorporated by reference,
see § 1915.5), and either NFPA 13–1999
Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems (incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5) or NFPA 750–2000
Standard on Water Mist Fire Protection Systems (incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5);
(3) Fixed extinguishing systems that
use water or foam as the extinguishing
agent according to NFPA 15–2001
Standard for Water Spray Fixed Systems for Fire Protection (incorporated
by reference, see § 1915.5); NFPA 11–1998
Standard for Low-Expansion Foam (incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5);
and NFPA 11A–1999 Standard for
Medium- and High-Expansion Foam
Systems (incorporated by reference,
see 1915.5);
(4) Fixed extinguishing systems using
dry chemical as the extinguishing
agent according to NFPA 17–2002
Standard for Dry Chemical Extinguishing Systems (incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5); and
(5) Fixed extinguishing systems using
gas as the extinguishing agent according to NFPA 12–2000 Standard on Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems
(incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5);
NFPA 12A–1997 Standard on Halon 1301
Fire Extinguishing Systems (incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5); and
NFPA 2001–2000 Standard on Clean
Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems (incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5).
§ 1915.508 Training.
(a) The employer must train employees in the applicable requirements of
this section:
(1) Within 90 days of December 14,
2004, for employees currently working;
(2) Upon initial assignment for new
employees; and
(3) When necessary to maintain proficiency for employees previously
trained.
(b) Employee training. The employer
must ensure that all employees are
trained on:
(1) The emergency alarm signals, including system discharge alarms and
employee evacuation alarms; and
(2) The primary and secondary evacuation routes that employees must use

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
in the event of a fire in the workplace.
While all vessels and vessel sections
must have a primary evacuation route,
a secondary evacuation route is not required when impracticable.
(c) Additional training requirements for
employees expected to fight incipient stage
fires. The employer must ensure that
employees expected to fight incipient
stage fires are trained on the following:
(1) The general principles of using
fire extinguishers or hose lines, the
hazards involved with incipient firefighting, and the procedures used to reduce these hazards;
(2) The hazards associated with fixed
and portable fire protection systems
that employees may use or to which
they may be exposed during discharge
of those systems; and
(3) The activation and operation of
fixed and portable fire protection systems that the employer expects employees to use in the workplace.
(d) Additional training requirements for
shipyard employees designated for fire response. The employer must:
(1) Have a written training policy
stating that fire response employees
must be trained and capable of carrying out their duties and responsibilities at all times;
(2) Keep written standard operating
procedures that address anticipated
emergency operations and update these
procedures as necessary;
(3) Review fire response employee
training programs and hands-on sessions before they are used in fire response training to make sure that fire
response employees are protected from
hazards associated with fire response
training;
(4) Provide training for fire response
employees that ensures they are capable of carrying out their duties and responsibilities under the employer’s
standard operating procedures;
(5) Train new fire response employees
before they engage in emergency operations;
(6) At least quarterly, provide training on the written operating procedures to fire response employees who
are expected to fight fires;
(7) Use qualified instructors to conduct the training;
(8) Conduct any training that involves live fire response exercises in

§ 1915.508

accordance with NFPA 1403–2002 Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions
(incorporated by reference, see § 1915.5);
(9) Conduct semi-annual drills according to the employer’s written procedures for fire response employees
that cover site-specific operations, occupancies, buildings, vessels and vessel
sections, and fire-related hazards; and
(10) Prohibit the use of smoke generating devices that create a dangerous
atmosphere in training exercises.
(e) Additional training requirements for
fire watch duty. (1) The employer must
ensure that each fire watch is trained
by an instructor with adequate fire
watch knowledge and experience to
cover the items as follows:
(i) Before being assigned to fire
watch duty;
(ii) Whenever there is a change in operations that presents a new or different hazard;
(iii) Whenever the employer has reason to believe that the fire watch’s
knowledge, skills, or understanding of
the training previously provided is inadequate; and
(iv) Annually.
(2) The employer must ensure that
each employee who stands fire watch
duty is trained in:
(i) The basics of fire behavior, the
different classes of fire and of extinguishing agents, the stages of fire, and
methods for extinguishing fires;
(ii) Extinguishing live fire scenarios
whenever allowed by local and federal
law;
(iii) The recognition of the adverse
health effects that may be caused by
exposure to fire;
(iv) The physical characteristics of
the hot work area;
(v) The hazards associated with fire
watch duties;
(vi) The personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to perform fire
watch duties safely;
(vii) The use of PPE;
(viii) The selection and use of any
fire extinguishers and fire hoses likely
to be used by a fire watch in the work
area;
(ix) The location and use of barriers;
(x) The means of communication designated by the employer for fire watches;

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§ 1915.509

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–05 Edition)

(xi) When and how to start fire alarm
procedures; and
(xii) The employer’s evacuation plan.
(3) The employer must ensure that
each fire watch is trained to alert others to exit the space whenever:
(i) The fire watch perceives an unsafe
condition;
(ii) The fire watch perceives that a
worker performing hot work is in danger;
(iii) The employer or a representative
of the employer orders an evacuation;
or
(iv) An evacuation signal, such as an
alarm, is activated.
(f) Records. The employer must keep
records that demonstrate that employees have been trained as required by
paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section.
(1) The employer must ensure that
the records include the employee’s
name; the trainer’s name; the type of
training; and the date(s) on which the
training took place.
(2) The employer must keep each
training record for one year from the
time it was made or until it is replaced
with a new training record, whichever
is shorter, and make it available for inspection and copying by OSHA on request.
§ 1915.509 Definitions applicable to
this subpart.
Alarm—a signal or message from a
person or device that indicates that
there is a fire, medical emergency, or
other situation that requires emergency response or evacuation. At some
shipyards, this may be called an ‘‘incident’’ or a ‘‘call for service.’’
Alarm system—a system that warns
employees at the worksite of danger.
Body harness—a system of straps that
may be secured about the employee in
a manner that will distribute the fall
arrest forces over at least the thighs,
shoulders, chest, and pelvis, with
means for attaching it to other components of a personal fall arrest system.
Class II standpipe system—a 11⁄2 inch
(3.8 cm) hose system which provides a
means for the control or extinguishment of incipient stage fires.
Contract employer—an employer, such
as a painter, joiner, carpenter, or scaffolding sub-contractor, who performs

work under contract to the host employer or to another employer under
contract to the host employer at the
host employer’s worksite. This excludes employers who provide incidental services that do not influence
shipyard employment (such as mail delivery or office supply services).
Dangerous atmosphere—an atmosphere
that may expose employees to the risk
of death, incapacitation, injury, acute
illness, or impairment of ability to
self-rescue (i.e., escape unaided from a
confined or enclosed space).
Designated area—an area established
for hot work after an inspection that is
free of fire hazards.
Drop Test—a method utilizing gauges
to ensure the integrity of an oxygen
fuel gas burning system. The method
requires that the burning torch is installed to one end of the oxygen and
fuel gas lines and then the gauges are
attached to the other end of the hoses.
The manifold or cylinder supply valve
is opened and the system is pressurized. The manifold or cylinder supply
valve is then closed and the gauges are
watched for at least sixty (60) seconds.
Any drop in pressure indicates a leak.
Emergency operations—activities performed by fire response organizations
that are related to: rescue, fire suppression, emergency medical care, and
special operations or activities that include responding to the scene of an incident and all activities performed at
that scene.
Fire hazard—a condition or material
that may start or contribute to the
spread of fire.
Fire protection—methods of providing
fire prevention, response, detection,
control, extinguishment, and engineering.
Fire response—the activity taken by
the employer at the time of an emergency incident involving a fire at the
worksite, including fire suppression activities carried out by internal or external resources or a combination of
both, or total or partial employee evacuation of the area exposed to the fire.
Fire response employee—a shipyard
employee who carries out the duties
and responsibilities of shipyard firefighting in accordance with the fire
safety plan.

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Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
Fire response organization—an organized group knowledgeable, trained,
and skilled in shipyard firefighting operations that responds to shipyard fire
emergencies, including: fire brigades,
shipyard fire departments, private or
contractual fire departments, and municipal fire departments.
Fire suppression—the activities involved in controlling and extinguishing
fires.
Fire watch—the activity of observing
and responding to the fire hazards associated with hot work in shipyard employment and the employees designated to do so.
Fixed extinguishing system—a permanently installed fire protection system
that either extinguishes or controls
fire occurring in the space it protects.
Flammable liquid—any liquid having a
flashpoint below 100 °F (37.8 °C), except
any mixture having components with
flashpoints of 100 °F (37.8 °C) or higher,
the total of which make up 99 percent
or more of the total volume of the mixture.
Hazardous
substance—a
substance
likely to cause injury by reason of
being explosive, flammable, poisonous,
corrosive, oxidizing, an irritant, or otherwise harmful.
Hose systems—fire protection systems
consisting of a water supply, approved
fire hose, and a means to control the
flow of water at the output end of the
hose.
Host employer—an employer who is in
charge of coordinating work or who
hires other employers to perform work
at a multi-employer workplace.
Incident management system—a system
that defines the roles and responsibilities to be assumed by personnel and
the operating procedures to be used in
the management and direction of emergency operations; the system is also referred to as an ‘‘incident command system’’ (ICS).
Incipient stage fire—a fire, in the initial or beginning stage, which can be
controlled or extinguished by portable
fire extinguishers, Class II standpipe or
small hose systems without the need
for protective clothing or breathing apparatus.
Inerting—the displacement of the atmosphere in a permit space by noncombustible gas (such as nitrogen) to

§ 1915.509

such an extent that the resulting atmosphere is noncombustible. This procedure produces an IDLH oxygen-deficient atmosphere.
Interior structural firefighting operations—the physical activity of fire response, rescue, or both involving a fire
beyond the incipient stage inside of
buildings, enclosed structures, vessels,
and vessel sections.
Multi-employer workplace—a workplace where there is a host employer
and at least one contract employer.
Personal Alert Safety System (PASS)—a
device that sounds a loud signal if the
wearer becomes immobilized or is motionless for 30 seconds or more.
Physical isolation—the elimination of
a fire hazard by removing the hazard
from the work area (at least 35 feet for
combustibles), by covering or shielding
the hazard with a fire-resistant material, or physically preventing the hazard from entering the work area.
Physically isolated—positive isolation
of the supply from the distribution piping of a fixed extinguishing system. Examples of ways to physically isolate include: removing a spool piece and installing a blank flange; providing a
double block and bleed valve system;
or completely disconnecting valves and
piping from all cylinders or other pressure vessels containing extinguishing
agents.
Protected space—any space into which
a fixed extinguishing system can discharge.
Proximity
firefighting—specialized
fire-fighting operations that require
specialized thermal protection and
may include the activities of rescue,
fire suppression, and property conservation at incidents involving fires
producing very high levels of conductive, convective, and radiant heat such
as aircraft fires, bulk flammable gas
fires, and bulk flammable liquid fires.
Proximity firefighting operations usually are exterior operations but may be
combined with structural firefighting
operations. Proximity firefighting is
not entry firefighting.
Qualified instructor—a person with
specific knowledge, training, and experience in fire response or fire watch activities to cover the material found in
§ 1915.508(b) or (c).

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29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–05 Edition)

Rescue—locating endangered persons
at an emergency incident, removing
those persons from danger, treating the
injured, and transporting the injured
to an appropriate health care facility.
Shipyard firefighting—the activity of
rescue, fire suppression, and property
conservation involving buildings, enclosed structures, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, or similar properties involved in
a fire or emergency situation.
Small hose system—a system of hoses
ranging in diameter from 5⁄8″ (1.6 cm)
up to 11⁄2″ (3.8 cm) which is for the use
of employees and which provides a
means for the control and extinguishment of incipient stage fires.
Standpipe—a fixed fire protection system consisting of piping and hose connections used to supply water to approved hose lines or sprinkler systems.
The hose may or may not be connected
to the system.

G. Description of the personnel responsible
for maintaining equipment, alarms, and systems that are installed to prevent or control
fire ignition sources, and to control fuel
source hazards.

APPENDIX A TO SUBPART P TO PART
1915—MODEL FIRE SAFETY PLAN
(NON-MANDATORY)

Names, job titles, or departments of individuals who can be contacted for further information about this plan.

MODEL FIRE SAFETY PLAN

Subparts Q–Y [Reserved]

NOTE: This appendix is non-mandatory and
provides guidance to assist employers in establishing a Fire Safety Plan as required in
§ 1915.502.

Subpart Z—Toxic and Hazardous
Substances

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Purpose.
II. Work site fire hazards and how to properly control them.
III. Alarm systems and how to report fires.
IV. How to evacuate in different emergency
situations.
V. Employee awareness.
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this fire safety plan is to inform our employees of how we will control
and reduce the possibility of fire in the
workplace and to specify what equipment
employees may use in case of fire.
II. WORK SITE FIRE HAZARDS AND HOW TO
PROPERLY CONTROL THEM
A. Measures to contain fires.
B. Teaching selected employees how to use
fire protection equipment.
C. What to do if you discover a fire.
D. Potential ignition sources for fires and
how to control them.
E. Types of fire protection equipment and
systems that can control a fire.
F. The level of firefighting capability
present in the facility, vessel, or vessel section.

III. ALARM SYSTEMS AND HOW TO REPORT
FIRES
A. A demonstration of alarm procedures, if
more than one type exists.
B. The work site emergency alarm system.
C. Procedures for reporting fires.
IV. HOW TO EVACUATE IN DIFFERENT
EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
A. Emergency escape procedures and route
assignments.
B. Procedures to account for all employees
after completing an emergency evacuation.
C. What type of evacuation is needed and
what the employee’s role is in carrying out
the plan.
D. Helping physically impaired employees.
V. EMPLOYEE AWARENESS

SOURCE: 58 FR 35514, July 1, 1993, unless
otherwise noted.

§ 1915.1000

Air contaminants.

Wherever this section applies, an
employees’s exposure to any substance
listed in Table Z—Shipyards of this
section shall be limited in accordance
with the requirements of the following
paragraphs of this section.
(a)(1) Substances with limits preceded
by ‘‘C’’—Ceiling values. An employee’s
exposure to any substance in Table Z—
Shipyards, the exposure limit of which
is preceded by a ‘‘C,’’ shall at no time
exceed the exposure limit given for
that substance. If instantaneous monitoring is not feasible, then the ceiling
shall be assessed as a 15-minute time
weighted average exposure which shall
not be exceeded at any time over a
working day.
(2) Other Substances—8-hour Time
Weighted Averages. An employee’s exposure to any substance in Table Z—
Shipyards , the exposure limit of which

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