Fire Extinguishers

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Permalink Reply by Linda Lorenzen-Safety Geek on December 30, 2009 at 11:48am

Extinguishers must be accessible to personnel but I use the standard of 36" clearance. They really don't have to have a stiped area in front of them but they must be identifiable, usually by a red sign above or markings on the wall above, so they can be readily found. Remember, no more than 75' apart if you just have Class A flammables, and no more than 50' apart for others.

Hope that answers your question!

Linda L
Safety Geek

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Permalink Reply by Dawn Eichenlaub on December 30, 2009 at 1:04pm

Thanks Linda!!!

Happy New Year!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin T. Salzman on January 5, 2010 at 10:05am

I want to add to Linda's comments,
Although floor markings are not required, I recommend them in all facilities for various reasons but mainly to help keep the area in front of them clear of any materials. Remember nothing can be stored in front of or under the extinguishers regardless of how small the object may be...
As for the distance, keep in mind the standard 29 CFR 1910.157(d) based on individual class ratings, A, B, C etc....
because the most common extinguisher that is found in most facilities is ABC, then i recommend the 50' or less. And class D 75' or less travel distance.
Also remember that inspections are required monthly and an annually. The Annual must be conducted by a outside third party, monthly can be done by your internal personnel. As for the Hydrostatic testing requirements, I recommend just replacing the extinguishers(ABC). I have found that to be cheaper every five years...
Training must be annual, and by the standard(1910.157(g), requires hands on training with the extinguisher, not just for the initial but for the annual as well...
Remember, the standard is a minimum requirement and OSHA is always looking for a greater degree of compliance.
I hope that helped....
If you have any questions email me here or at ksalzman@qisi.com

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Permalink Reply by Jason Burzynski on January 5, 2010 at 4:04pm

Does it have to be actual hands on training with a real "live" fire and extinguisher? We use a dummy extinguisher to familiarize and to practice the PASS technique but we do not use a charged extinguisher or real fire. I just want to be sure I'm doing enough to train our safety committee members and we do not have the option of live fire training in my area. We looked at purchasing the BullEx system but it is too expensive at this time so my options are limited. Thanks for any advice you can offer!

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Permalink Reply by Linda Lorenzen-Safety Geek on January 7, 2010 at 9:15am

I don't believe it has to be a "live" fire and extinguisher, but I may be in error...anyone?? I think that if you are familiarizing them with the extinguisher and the PASS system that should be sufficient. I have found that making them actually pick up a full extinguisher educates them a lot. Many are just not aware of just how heavy the extinguishers are. Our local fire department (a volunteer service) has so far refused to come out and help us train. Unusual since every other fire department I've been in contact with was more than happy to help educate.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Burzynski on January 7, 2010 at 11:35am

I contacted our local departments and a local technical college to ask for the training but they all stated they no longer provided this service to small businesses. Too much clean up and permits involved I'm guessing. I read OSHA's reg on this and it states we are required to "familiarize". I know the ultimate would be a live fire demo but as I stated above, we simply don't have the $ to do so.

We have a firehouse about an 1/8 mile down the block so I don't anticipate anything getting too far out of hand.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin T. Salzman on February 2, 2010 at 9:55am

I can tell you we use the Bullex System for training and as per our Local OSHA director, the "Hands On" Requirement is to show through practical application that they actually know how to use the extinguisher. We did a demonstration for our local chapter of the ASSE and our local OSHA director and Asst Director were there and both confirmed the requirement for "Hands On" ......Its demonstrating that they understand PASS, again through application not just on the definitions of the acronyms....
Again, if you read paragraphs 1910.157(g)(1) and (g)(2)....(g)(1) we talk about " "....general principals of fire extinguisher use....."
Then in paragraph (g)(3) The employer shall provide employees who are designated to use fire fighting equipment as part of an emergency action plan with training IN THE USE of the appropriate equipment.....
Hope that helps...

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Permalink Reply by Greg Brosey on January 8, 2010 at 3:19pm

There are companies out there that will provide you with a "virtual" fire to fight for your training. I don't know what the $ are for that, but you can find them on the web. It's really kind of neat, I saw a demo of one of the trainig units. Years ago I used to take a clean, 55 gallon steel drum and have our maintenance dept. cut the bottom off leaving about 1 foot of the drum wall in place. I'd put a small piece of wood in the bottom (as a wick) then add about 1/2 to 1 inch of kerosene to it. I would light the wood to get the fire going and once the kerosene got hot enough we had a small, contained, fire to practice on. We used ABC dry chem extinguishers and would re-ignite the kerosene after each employee had a chance to put the fire out (I also had a long handled stick with a wick on the end to safely light the kerosene from a distance). We did this in the middle of a large, stone outside steel parts storage area so the fire escaping the container and spreading was not an issue. We'd allow all the kerosene to burn off (while attended) and the drum to cool for a few days then we disposed of the ABC dry chem and drum with our residual industrial waste (with the blessing of the local solid waste authority).

Concerning "hands-on" training. Below are exerpts from 2 OSHA Letters of Interpretation. The first is to Mr. Michael S. Kaninski, Fire Protection Officer Wisconsin Electric Power Company, dated 09/12/1986; the second is to Mr. Gary Wilson.

09/12/1986 - Fire equipment training requirements.

OPTION 3: Provide portable fire extinguishers and permit all employees to use them to fight fires.

This choice requires the employer to comply with all the requirements in 29 CFR 1910.157 for the placement, use, maintenance, testing, training and education in the use of the portable fire extinguishers.

29 CFR 1910.157(g)(1) [and (2)] requires that, where an employer has provided portable fire extinguishers for employee use in the workplace, he shall also provide an educational training program to familiarize employees with the general principles of fire extinguisher use and the hazards involved with incipient stage fire fighting and training in the use of appropriate equipment. The education and training shall be provided upon initial employment and at least annually thereafter.

[This document was edited on 2/27/2004 to strike information that no longer reflects current OSHA policy.]

In meeting the requirements of these standards, the employer may provide educational materials, without classroom instruction, through the use of employee notice campaigns using instruction sheets or flyers or similar types of informal programs; or he may provide on site training which exposes employees to the actual "feeling" of fire fighting by simulated fires for training employees in the proper use of extinguishers.

The full text of the above letter is on OSHA's web page.

OSHA Letter of Interpretation to Mr. Gary Wilson, Safety?security Manager, The Hawkes Hospital of Mt. Carmel

January 28, 1983

Mr. Gary L. Wilson
Safety/Security Manager
The Hawkes Hospital of Mt. Carmel
6001 East Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43213

Dear Mr. Wilson:

This is in response to your letter of January 17, 1983, requesting a clarification of our Fire Protection, [Exit Routes], and Hazardous Material Standards.

29 CFR 1910.157(g)(1) requires "where the employer has provided portable fire extinguishers for employee use in the workplace, the employer shall also provide an educational program to familiarize employees with the general principles of fire extinguisher use and the hazards involved with incipient stage fire fighting." Hands on experience using actual fires in a controlled environment is not required in your particular case.

The employee emergency plan and fire prevention plans in 29 CFR [1910.38(e)] requires training for persons designated to assist in the safe and orderly emergency evacuation of employees. Evacuation techniques could be included as part of this training.

If I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,


John K. Barto, Chief
Division of Occupational Safety Programming

[Corrected 2/6/2004]

You can check with your local OSHA office to confirm their interpretation but I'm pretty sure "hands-on" actual fire-fighting training is not required for using fire extinguishers on incipient stage fires (I also confirmed this with my Regional Office).

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Permalink Reply by Kevin T. Salzman on February 2, 2010 at 9:57am

I can tell you we use the Bullex System for training and as per our Local OSHA director, the "Hands On" Requirement is to show through practical application that they actually know how to use the extinguisher. We did a demonstration for our local chapter of the ASSE and our local OSHA director and Asst Director were there and both confirmed the requirement for "Hands On" ......Its demonstrating that they understand PASS, again through application not just on the definitions of the acronyms....
Again, if you read paragraphs 1910.157(g)(1) and (g)(2)....(g)(1) we talk about " "....general principals of fire extinguisher use....."
Then in paragraph (g)(3) The employer shall provide employees who are "DESIGNATED" to use fire fighting equipment as part of an emergency action plan with training IN THE USE of the appropriate equipment.....
remember the assumption is always there that if you have extinguishers in your facility someone is trained on their use....meeting the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.38 & 39 can help satisfy and answer this....
Hope that helps.....

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Permalink Reply by Lukeav - Lanier Upshaw on January 12, 2010 at 11:29am

Linda L had a great response! Another good point of advise that I have seen mostly in warehouses is to color-code an area above where the extinguisher is located (such as 10 to 15 feet up on a pole that the extinguisher is mounted on) so that the fire extinguisher can be easily located if obstructed by stock stored in a facilty or warehouse. Otherwise you would have to randomly wander around to find the closest fire extinguisher.

Luke

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Permalink Reply by Kevin T. Salzman on February 2, 2010 at 10:09am

Paragraph (c)(1) of the 1910.157 .....shall locate,mount and identify them so that they are readily accessible.....
visual markings are a requirement for extinguishers.....
remember the 1910 is a minimum requirement....

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Permalink Reply by jenny andrew on January 15, 2010 at 8:31am

I don't know for sure but I'd leave a metre around fire extinguishers which would give anyone enough room to grab hold of it.

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