First, let me say this upfront if your facility has not evaluated your local fire department’s rescue capabilities in the past 2-3 years, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE it to do so ASAP. With the drastic swing in the economy and many cities on the brink of bankruptcy, I know of at least 50 FDs that have scrapped their special rescue teams and are relying on County or Regional wide teams to cover special rescues like Confined Space, High Angle, Trench, Swift Water, etc. We have seen it numerous times where the facility will have documentation in the form of a letter that all is good, only to have us show up for an audit and find out that because of budget cuts the training program for CS rescue was canceled. This problem is MUCH BIGGER than an audit finding; it may become a matter of life or death. If you have an arrangement with your local FD to provide CS Rescue, please get in touch with them to ensure they are still capable of providing this service. From a compliance point of view, if they have stopped their annual hands-on training, cut their overtime, or officially disbanded the rescue team, it is your facility that will receive the OSHA citation, not the FD.
