Emergency Preparedness and Fire Prevention
Plans and exits
The Emergency Action Plan (29 CFR 1910.38) covers reporting procedures, evacuation or shelter-in-place, accounting for employees, rescue duties, and alarm systems; employers with ten or fewer employees may communicate it orally. The Fire Prevention Plan (1910.39) addresses major fire hazards, handling and storage of flammable materials, potential ignition sources, housekeeping, and maintenance of fire protection equipment. Exit routes (1910.37) must be unobstructed, adequately lit, marked, and unlocked from the inside without a key.
Fire chemistry and agents
The fire tetrahedron: fuel, oxygen, heat, and the uninhibited chemical chain reaction. Remove any side and the fire stops. Extinguisher classes drive agent selection: A ordinary combustibles (water, dry chemical), B flammable liquids (foam, CO2, dry chemical), C energized electrical (CO2, dry chemical - never water), D combustible metals (special dry powders), K commercial cooking oils (wet chemical). Use PASS: pull, aim, squeeze, sweep. Portable extinguishers are typically limited to incipient-stage fires, with travel distance to an extinguisher generally not exceeding 75 feet for Class A hazards and 50 feet for Class B.
Hot work and drills
Hot work permits control welding, cutting, and grinding: clear combustibles, use fire watch, and monitor for at least 30 minutes after work ends (longer where required). Conduct drills at least annually, evaluate performance, and revise the plan.
Traps
- Confusing the EAP with the fire prevention plan.
- Selecting water on a Class C or Class D fire.
- Assuming sprinklers satisfy detection, or that detection suppresses fire.
- Forgetting the accounting-for-employees element and the alarm and reporting elements.
Worked example
A restaurant kitchen deep fryer ignites. Class K, wet chemical agent, and the extinguisher is mounted along the egress path within 50 feet. Water or a CO2 unit would spread the burning oil.
Rule of thumb
Match agent to class, size to hazard, and distance to occupancy.