Fire brigades in foundries.

In today's risk-management conscious industrial environment, the establishment of an industrial fire brigade has become a priority for many companies. Does your foundry need a fire brigade?

Is There a Need?

The need for a foundry fire brigade may be based on a variety of factors. One of the main reasons is the fact that your employees are the ones most familiar with the specific hazards of the foundry. Raw materials, processes, waste product and finished product may all present problems that require special skills or knowledge that only foundry employees possess.

Management officials should examine the level of experience and skills of the members of the municipal fire department to determine if a foundry fire brigade is warranted. Fire departments may not have the training and experience to operate within your foundry and they may not have the time or resources to train members properly.

Another reason for establishing a foundry fire brigade is that often the municipal fire department is too far from the foundry to provide adequate service. Fires and other emergencies can double in size every 30 sec - a response time of even 10 min by an outside fire department may be too long.

Establishing a Fire Brigade

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets forth regulations for industrial fire brigades in 29CFR1910, Subpart L. The regulation calls for employers to provide fire protection for employee safety in facilities.

There are five choices in providing fire protection to employees. First, employees may be prohibited from fighting any size fire. If this option is chosen, the foundry isn't required by OSHA to maintain portable fire extinguishers or any other type of fire suppression equipment in the facility.

The second option is for employees to fight incipient stage (small size) fires within their immediate work area. Annual training on the use of portable fire extinguishers must be provided.

Third, the foundry may designate specific employees to use portable extinguishers on incipient stage fires while all others evacuate the building.

The fourth choice is the establishment of a fire brigade to fight only incipient stage fires. Incipient stage fire brigade members must be trained in the use of portable fire extinguishers and other types of installed, manual fire suppression equipment. Members of this fire brigade aren't required to have special protective clothing.

The last choice is to establish a fire brigade to fight interior structural fires. This choice offers the greatest degree of fire protection to the facility, but also requires a large investment of time and money. Members of the interior structural fire brigade must receive quarterly training and must be provided with protective clothing that meets or exceeds OSHA standards.

Your foundry may combine several of these choices. For example, all employees may be trained to fight incipient stage fires in their work area and you can also have a designated interior structural fire brigade. The key to the OSHA requirements for fire protection is in the choice you make and put in writing. If your foundry decides to establish a fire brigade, a written organizational statement must be developed that describes the duties and functions of the fire brigade. Regardless of the fire protection options chosen, the employer must establish specific mission and policy statements related to the health and safety of all employees and, if a fire brigade option is chosen, specifically for brigade members.

While it is recognized that employers must meet OSHA regulations, the National Fire Protection Assn. (NFPA) offers guidelines for establishing a fire brigade in NFPA 600, Standard on Industrial Fire Brigades. Foundry management interested in establishing a fire brigade should start by obtaining a copy of NFPA 600. Fire brigades that are fully compliant with NFPA 600 will have exceeded OSHA requirements.

Standard Operating Guidelines

Regardless of whether the fire brigade is to fight incipient stage fires or interior structural fires, the company must have written, well-defined, specific operating guidelines (SOGs). SOGs serve as a "playbook" for the brigade, helping to ensure all members are on the same page during emergency operations. The fire brigade needs to develop SOGs for a variety of operations to be performed. For example, they must describe the standard response to specific incidents, such as fires involving combustible metals or response to confined space rescues.

Well written SOGs serve as the basis not only for emergency response activities, but also for training sessions. If SOGs are not learned and practiced, they will be nothing more than a collection of useless information.

Training & Education

To operate smoothly and efficiently during emergency incidents, members and officers of the brigade must be well-trained and educated.

OSHA requires that training and education for fire brigade members be accomplished prior to actually responding to fires and then on at least an annual basis thereafter. If the fire brigade is established to fight interior structural fires, quarterly training is required. Hands-on training sessions must be conducted at least annually.

NFPA 600 is clearer than OSHA on the subject matter that should be included in training. NFPA 600 breaks fire brigades down into four categories: (1) those that perform incipient fire fighting, (2) those that perform advanced exterior fire fighting only, (3) those that perform interior structural fire fighting only, and (4) those that perform both advanced exterior and interior structural fire fighting. The NFPA document outlines the types of tasks that are required of fire brigades organized along those four lines.

Whether or not the decision is made to establish a foundry fire brigade, management officials must ensure that foundry employees are safe from fire in the workplace. While compliance with NFPA standards is not generally required by law, foundry management should consult the appropriate NFPA standards when making fire protection-related decisions.