There has been a lot of discussions these past several years about having an “in-house emergency response team” vs. relying on “external response services” (e.g. local FD or contracted services on a case-by-case basis). There is NO one right or wrong answer and each facility and its hazards and needs are all quite different. This week OSHA published a Fact Sheet titled Evaluation of Fire and Rescue Services (#3925). The fact sheet was published SPECIFICALLY for Shipyards; however, after reviewing it, there is a lot of great information in it that can be applied to other industries. If your PSM/RMP facility or you have personnel who enter Permit-Required Confined Spaces (PRCS) using the “entry permit” method for entry then this Fact Sheet may be helpful in your evaluation of your fire and rescue services. And remember, sometimes the OSHA standards specific to a different industry may be better than what our actual industry standard requires. For example, did you know that OSHA’s PRCS standard for Shipyards limits the upper Oxygen limit to 22%, not the 23.5% allowed in General Industry or that OSHA prohibits entry into ship spaces when the LEL is at 10% or higher, whereas the general industry standard permits entry in a space with a LEL >10%. SAFTENG members can see my comparisons in the Permit-Required Confined Space Section.