[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 8]
[Revised as of July 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1926.150]
[Page 186-188]
TITLE 29--LABOR
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT
OF LABOR
PART 1926_SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION--Table of Contents
Subpart F_Fire Protection and Prevention
Sec. 1926.150 Fire protection.
Authority: Sec. 107, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act
(40 U.S.C. 333); secs. 4, 6, and 8, Occupational Safety and Health Act
of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657); Secretary of Labor's Order No. 12-71
(36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), or 6-96 (62 FR
111) as applicable; and 29 CFR part 1911.
(a) General requirements. (1) The employer shall be responsible for
the development of a fire protection program to be followed throughout
all phases of the construction and demolition work, and he shall provide
for the firefighting equipment as specified in this subpart. As fire
hazards occur, there shall be no delay in providing the necessary
equipment.
(2) Access to all available firefighting equipment shall be
maintained at all times.
(3) All firefighting equipment, provided by the employer, shall be
conspicuously located.
(4) All firefighting equipment shall be periodically inspected and
maintained in operating condition. Defective equipment shall be
immediately replaced.
(5) As warranted by the project, the employer shall provide a
trained and equipped firefighting organization (Fire Brigade) to assure
adequate protection to life.
(b) Water supply. (1) A temporary or permanent water supply, of
sufficient volume, duration, and pressure, required to properly operate
the firefighting equipment shall be made available as soon as
combustible materials accumulate.
(2) Where underground water mains are to be provided, they shall be
installed, completed, and made available for use as soon as practicable.
(c) Portable firefighting equipment--(1) Fire extinguishers and
small hose lines. (i) A fire extinguisher, rated not less than 2A, shall
be provided for each 3,000 square feet of the protected building area,
or major fraction thereof. Travel distance from any point of the
protected area to the nearest fire extinguisher shall not exceed 100
feet.
[[Page 187]]
(ii) One 55-gallon open drum of water with two fire pails may be
substituted for a fire extinguisher having a 2A rating.
(iii) A \1/2\-inch diameter garden-type hose line, not to exceed 100
feet in length and equipped with a nozzle, may be substituted for a 2A-
rated fire extinguisher, providing it is capable of discharging a
minimum of 5 gallons per minute with a minimum hose stream range of 30
feet horizontally. The garden-type hose lines shall be mounted on
conventional racks or reels. The number and location of hose racks or
reels shall be such that at least one hose stream can be applied to all
points in the area.
(iv) One or more fire extinguishers, rated not less than 2A, shall
be provided on each floor. In multistory buildings, at least one fire
extinguisher shall be located adjacent to stairway.
(v) Extinguishers and water drums, subject to freezing, shall be
protected from freezing.
(vi) A fire extinguisher, rated not less than 10B, shall be provided
within 50 feet of wherever more than 5 gallons of flammable or
combustible liquids or 5 pounds of flammable gas are being used on the
jobsite. This requirement does not apply to the integral fuel tanks of
motor vehicles.
(vii) Carbon tetrachloride and other toxic vaporizing liquid fire
extinguishers are prohibited.
(viii) Portable fire extinguishers shall be inspected periodically
and maintained in accordance with Maintenance and Use of Portable Fire
Extinguishers, NFPA No. 10A-1970.
(ix) Fire extinguishers which have been listed or approved by a
nationally recognized testing laboratory, shall be used to meet the
requirements of this subpart.
(x) Table F-1 may be used as a guide for selecting the appropriate
portable fire extinguishers.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TC30OC91.012
(2) Fire hose and connections. (i) One hundred feet, or less, of
1\1/2\-inch hose, with a nozzle capable of discharging water at 25
gallons or more per minute, may be substituted for a fire extinguisher
rated not more than 2A in the designated area provided that the hose
line can reach all points in the area.
[[Page 188]]
(ii) If fire hose connections are not compatible with local
firefighting equipment, the contractor shall provide adapters, or
equivalent, to permit connections.
(iii) During demolition involving combustible materials, charged
hose lines, supplied by hydrants, water tank trucks with pumps, or
equivalent, shall be made available.
(d) Fixed firefighting equipment--(1) Sprinkler protection. (i) If
the facility being constructed includes the installation of automatic
sprinkler protection, the installation shall closely follow the
construction and be placed in service as soon as applicable laws permit
following completion of each story.
(ii) During demolition or alterations, existing automatic sprinkler
installations shall be retained in service as long as reasonable. The
operation of sprinkler control valves shall be permitted only by
properly authorized persons. Modification of sprinkler systems to permit
alterations or additional demolition should be expedited so that the
automatic protection may be returned to service as quickly as possible.
Sprinkler control valves shall be checked daily at close of work to
ascertain that the protection is in service.
(2) Standpipes. In all structures in which standpipes are required,
or where standpipes exist in structures being altered, they shall be
brought up as soon as applicable laws permit, and shall be maintained as
construction progresses in such a manner that they are always ready for
fire protection use. The standpipes shall be provided with Siamese fire
department connections on the outside of the structure, at the street
level, which shall be conspicuously marked. There shall be at least one
standard hose outlet at each floor.
(e) Fire alarm devices. (1) An alarm system, e.g., telephone system,
siren, etc., shall be established by the employer whereby employees on
the site and the local fire department can be alerted for an emergency.
(2) The alarm code and reporting instructions shall be conspicuously
posted at phones and at employee entrances.
(f) Fire cutoffs. (1) Fire walls and exit stairways, required for
the completed buildings, shall be given construction priority. Fire
doors, with automatic closing devices, shall be hung on openings as soon
as practicable.
(2) Fire cutoffs shall be retained in buildings undergoing
alterations or demolition until operations necessitate their removal.
[44 FR 8577, Feb. 9, 1979; 44 FR 20940, Apr. 6, 1979, as amended at 58
FR 35162, June 30, 1993; 61 FR 31432, June 20, 1996]
