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Subpart
P—Fire Protection in Shipyard Employment
§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 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.)
(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.
§1915.503 Precautions
for hot work.
(a) General
requirements—(1)
Designated Areas.
The employer may designate 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.
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.
§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
(8) A Marine Chemist, a Coast
Guard-authorized 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.
(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 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 performing 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
(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 1981-2002 Standard on Open-Circuit
Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus for Fire and Emergency Services
(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 an organization is expected to use the fire response
equipment within a facility or vessel or vessel section.
[69
FR 55702, Sept. 15, 2004, as amended at 71 FR 60847, Oct. 17,
2006]
§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 employees 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.
§1915.507 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 10-2002 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
10-2002 (incorporated by reference, see §1915.5), as portable
fire extinguishers if the employer selects, installs, inspects,
maintains, and tests those systems according to the specific
recommendations in NFPA 14-2003 Standard for the Installation of
Standpipe 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 72-2002 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 14-2003 Standard for the Installation of Standpipe 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 (i) NFPA
13-2002 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems
(incorporated by reference, see §1915.5), or (ii) NFPA
750-2003 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) and NFPA 11-2005
Standard for Low-, Medium-, and High-Expansion Foam (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 12-2005 Standard
on Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems (incorporated by
reference, see §1915.5); NFPA 12A-2004 Standard on Halon 1301
Fire Extinguishing Systems (incorporated by reference, see
§1915.5); and NFPA 2001-2004 Standard on Clean Agent Fire
Extinguishing Systems (incorporated by reference, see §1915.5).
[69
FR 55702, Sept. 15, 2004, as amended at 71 FR 60847, Oct. 17,
2006]
§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 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 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;
(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.
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 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).
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.
Appendix A to Subpart P of Part
1915—Model Fire Safety Plan (Non-Mandatory)
Model
Fire Safety Plan
Note:
This appendix is non-mandatory and provides guidance to assist
employers in establishing a Fire Safety Plan as required in
§1915.502.
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.
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.
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
Names, job titles, or departments of
individuals who can be contacted for further information about
this plan.
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