OSHA does not mandate that employers establish fire brigades; however, if they do so, they must comply with the provisions of the Fire Brigades Standard. The provisions of the Standard, including the paperwork requirements, apply to fire brigades, industrial fire departments, and private or contract fire departments, but not to airport crash rescue units or forest firefighting operations. Paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), and (c)(4) contain the paperwork requirements of the Standard.
Under paragraph (b)(1) of the Standard, employers must develop and maintain an organizational statement that establishes the:
- existence of a fire brigade;
- the basic organizational structure of the brigade;
- type, amount, and frequency of training provided to brigade members;
- expected number of members in the brigade; and
- functions that the brigade is to perform.
This paragraph also specifies that the organizational statement must be available for review by workers, their designated representatives, and OSHA compliance officers. The organizational statement describes the functions performed by the brigade members and, thereby, determines the level of training and type of personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary for these members to perform their assigned functions safely. Making the statement available to workers, their designated representatives, and OSHA compliance officers ensures that the elements of the statement are consistent with the functions performed by the brigade members and the occupational hazards they experience, and that employers are providing training and PPE appropriate to these functions and hazards.
To permit a worker with known heart disease, epilepsy, or emphysema to participate in fire brigade emergency activities, paragraph (b)(2) of the Standard requires employers to obtain a physician’s certificate of the worker’s fitness to do so. This provision provides employers with a direct and efficient means of ascertaining whether or not they can safely expose workers with these medical conditions to the hazards of firefighting operations.
Paragraph (c)(4) of the Standard requires employers to inform fire brigade members regarding special hazards such as the storage and use of flammable liquids and gases, toxic chemicals, radioactive sources, and water-reactive substances that may be present during fires and other emergencies, as well as about any changes in these special hazards. It also requires that employers develop written procedures describing the actions that brigade members are to take when special hazards are present, and to make these procedures available in the education and training program and for review by brigade members.