As noted in the Summary and Explanation for proposed paragraph (a) Scope, the proposed rule would not apply to any employer that is not an Emergency Service Organization (ESO) and does not have a Workplace Emergency Response Team (WERT). Nothing in this proposed rule would require an employer to establish a WERT.
Each employer makes the decision for itself, based on a risk assessment of its facility, about how emergency response services will be provided for its workers at its facility. Employers may choose to rely on emergency services available in the community where the facility is located. Community fire and EMS ESOs are available in varying capacities throughout the country. When an employer is considering how emergency response services will be provided at its facility, response time and community ESO availability may be a concern and should be a factor in the employer’s decision. Additionally, employers should not assume that the local ESO is able to provide all types of services that may be needed at their facility. In particular, ESOs with technical rescue capabilities are not as widely available as fire and EMS ESOs.
Another option would be for the employer to establish a team of facility workers in a WERT to provide some or all of the emergency services potentially needed. Establishing the WERT could be a component of the employer’s 29 CFR 1910.38 compliant emergency action plan when required. For example, if the employer’s facility risk assessment identified the need for technical rescue, but the community ESO provides only fire and EMS services, the employer could establish a WERT for technical rescue only. Or perhaps the risk assessment indicates a need for firefighting services because the facility is located a long distance from the community ESO. To ensure an adequate response time, the employer could establish a WERT to provide the appropriate level of firefighting services at its facility. Under the proposed rule, an employer establishing a WERT is considered a Workplace Emergency Response Employer (WERE). If an employer chooses to establish a WERT, the requirements of the proposed standard would apply.
Here is a break down of those requirements: