[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 5]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1910.39]

[Page 150-152]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR

 
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 

                                OF LABOR

 
PART 1910_OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS--Table of Contents

 
                        Subpart E_Means of Egress

 
Sec. 1910.39  Fire prevention plans.


    (a) Application. An employer must have a fire prevention plan when 

an OSHA standard in this part requires one. The requirements in this 

section apply to each such fire prevention plan.



[[Page 151]]



    (b) Written and oral fire prevention plans. A fire prevention plan 

must be in writing, be kept in the workplace, and be made available to 

employees for review. However, an employer with 10 or fewer employees 

may communicate the plan orally to employees.

    (c) Minimum elements of a fire prevention plan. A fire prevention 

plan must include:

    (1) A list of all major fire hazards, proper handling and storage 

procedures for hazardous materials, potential ignition sources and their 

control, and the type of fire protection equipment necessary to control 

each major hazard;

    (2) Procedures to control accumulations of flammable and combustible 

waste materials;

    (3) Procedures for regular maintenance of safeguards installed on 

heat-producing equipment to prevent the accidental ignition of 

combustible materials;

    (4) The name or job title of employees responsible for maintaining 

equipment to prevent or control sources of ignition or fires; and

    (5) The name or job title of employees responsible for the control 

of fuel source hazards.

    (d) Employee information. An employer must inform employees upon 

initial assignment to a job of the fire hazards to which they are 

exposed. An employer must also review with each employee those parts of 

the fire prevention plan necessary for self-protection.



[67 FR 67961, Nov. 7, 2002]



Appendix to Subpart E of Part 1910--Exit Routes, Emergency Action Plans, 

                        and Fire Prevention Plans



    This appendix serves as a nonmandatory guideline to assist employers 

in complying with the appropriate requirements of subpart E.



                 Sec. 1910.38 Employee emergency plans.



    1. Emergency action plan elements. The emergency action plan should 

address emergencies that the employer may reasonably expect in the 

workplace. Examples are: fire; toxic chemical releases; hurricanes; 

tornadoes; blizzards; floods; and others. The elements of the emergency 

action plan presented in paragraph 1910.38(c) can be supplemented by the 

following to more effectively achieve employee safety and health in an 

emergency. The employer should list in detail the procedures to be taken 

by those employees who have been selected to remain behind to care for 

essential plant operations until their evacuation becomes absolutely 

necessary. Essential plant operations may include the monitoring of 

plant power supplies, water supplies, and other essential services which 

cannot be shut down for every emergency alarm. Essential plant 

operations may also include chemical or manufacturing processes which 

must be shut down in stages or steps where certain employees must be 

present to assure that safe shut down procedures are completed.

    The use of floor plans or workplace maps which clearly show the 

emergency escape routes should be included in the emergency action plan. 

Color coding will aid employees in determining their route assignments.

    The employer should also develop and explain in detail what rescue 

and medical first aid duties are to be performed and by whom. All 

employees are to be told what actions they are to take in these 

emergency situations that the employer anticipates may occur in the 

workplace.

    2. Emergency evacuation. At the time of an emergency, employees 

should know what type of evacuation is necessary and what their role is 

in carrying out the plan. In some cases where the emergency is very 

grave, total and immediate evacuation of all employees is necessary. In 

other emergencies, a partial evacuation of nonessential employees with a 

delayed evacuation of others may be necessary for continued plant 

operation. In some cases, only those employees in the immediate area of 

the fire may be expected to evacuate or move to a safe area such as when 

a local application fire suppression system discharge employee alarm is 

sounded. Employees must be sure that they know what is expected of them 

in all such emergency possibilities which have been planned in order to 

provide assurance of their safety from fire or other emergency.

    The designation of refuge or safe areas for evacuation should be 

determined and identified in the plan. In a building divided into fire 

zones by fire walls, the refuge area may still be within the same 

building but in a different zone from where the emergency occurs.

    Exterior refuge or safe areas may include parking lots, open fields 

or streets which are located away from the site of the emergency and 

which provide sufficient space to accommodate the employees. Employees 

should be instructed to move away from the exit discharge doors of the 

building, and to avoid congregating close to the building where they may 

hamper emergency operations.

    3. Emergency action plan training. The employer should assure that 

an adequate number of employees are available at all times during 

working hours to act as evacuation



[[Page 152]]



wardens so that employees can be swiftly moved from the danger location 

to the safe areas. Generally, one warden for each twenty employees in 

the workplace should be able to provide adequate guidance and 

instruction at the time of a fire emergency. The employees selected or 

who volunteer to serve as wardens should be trained in the complete 

workplace layout and the various alternative escape routes from the 

workplace. All wardens and fellow employees should be made aware of 

handicapped employees who may need extra assistance, such as using the 

buddy system, and of hazardous areas to be avoided during emergencies. 

Before leaving, wardens should check rooms and other enclosed spaces in 

the workplace for employees who may be trapped or otherwise unable to 

evacuate the area.

    After the desired degree of evacuation is completed, the wardens 

should be able to account for or otherwise verify that all employees are 

in the safe areas.

    In buildings with several places of employment, employers are 

encouraged to coordinate their plans with the other employers in the 

building. A building-wide or standardized plan for the whole building is 

acceptable provided that the employers inform their respective employees 

of their duties and responsibilities under the plan. The standardized 

plan need not be kept by each employer in the multi-employer building, 

provided there is an accessible location within the building where the 

plan can be reviewed by affected employees. When multi-employer 

building-wide plans are not feasible, employers should coordinate their 

plans with the other employers within the building to assure that 

conflicts and confusion are avoided during times of emergencies. In 

multi-story buildings where more than one employer is on a single floor, 

it is essential that these employers coordinate their plans with each 

other to avoid conflicts and confusion.

    4. Fire prevention housekeeping. The standard calls for the control 

of accumulations of flammable and combustible waste materials.

    It is the intent of this standard to assure that hazardous 

accumulations of combustible waste materials are controlled so that a 

fast developing fire, rapid spread of toxic smoke, or an explosion will 

not occur. This does not necessarily mean that each room has to be swept 

each day. Employers and employees should be aware of the hazardous 

properties of materials in their workplaces, and the degree of hazard 

each poses. Certainly oil soaked rags have to be treated differently 

than general paper trash in office areas. However, large accumulations 

of waste paper or corrugated boxes, etc., can pose a significant fire 

hazard. Accumulations of materials which can cause large fires or 

generate dense smoke that are easily ignited or may start from 

spontaneous combustion, are the types of materials with which this 

standard is concerned. Such combustible materials may be easily ignited 

by matches, welder's sparks, cigarettes and similar low level energy 

ignition sources.

    5. Maintenance of equipment under the fire prevention plan. Certain 

equipment is often installed in workplaces to control heat sources or to 

detect fuel leaks. An example is a temperature limit switch often found 

on deep-fat food fryers found in restaurants. There may be similar 

switches for high temperature dip tanks, or flame failure and flashback 

arrester devices on furnaces and similar heat producing equipment. If 

these devices are not properly maintained or if they become inoperative, 

a definite fire hazard exists. Again employees and supervisors should be 

aware of the specific type of control devices on equipment involved with 

combustible materials in the workplace and should make sure, through 

periodic inspection or testing, that these controls are operable. 

Manufacturers' recommendations should be followed to assure proper 

maintenance procedures.



[45 FR 60714, Sept. 12, 1980]