[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1910.38]

[Page 155-158]
 
                             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. 1910.38  Employee emergency plans and fire prevention plans.

    (a) Emergency action plan--(1) Scope and application. This paragraph 
(a) applies to all emergency action plans required by a particular OSHA 
standard. The emergency action plan shall be in writing (except as 
provided in the last sentence of paragraph (a)(5)(iii) of this section) 
and shall cover those designated actions employers and employees must 
take to ensure employee safety from fire and other emergencies.
    (2) Elements. The following elements, at a minimum, shall be 
included in the plan:
    (i) Emergency escape procedures and emergency escape route 
assignments;
    (ii) Procedures to be followed by employees who remain to operate 
critical plant operations before they evacuate;
    (iii) Procedures to account for all employees after emergency 
evacuation has been completed;
    (iv) Rescue and medical duties for those employees who are to 
perform them;
    (v) The preferred means of reporting fires and other emergencies; 
and
    (vi) Names or regular job titles of persons or departments who can 
be contacted for further information or explanation of duties under the 
plan.
    (3) Alarm system. (i) The employer shall establish an employee alarm 
system which complies with Sec. 1910.165.
    (ii) If the employee alarm system is used for alerting fire brigade 
members, or for other purposes, a distinctive signal for each purpose 
shall be used.
    (4) Evacuation. The employer shall establish in the emergency action 
plan the types of evacuation to be used in emergency circumstances.

[[Page 156]]

    (5) Training. (i) Before implementing the emergency action plan, the 
employer shall designate and train a sufficient number of persons to 
assist in the safe and orderly emergency evacuation of employees.
    (ii) The employer shall review the plan with each employee covered 
by the plan at the following times:
    (A) Initially when the plan is developed,
    (B) Whenever the employee's responsibilities or designated actions 
under the plan change, and
    (C) Whenever the plan is changed.
    (iii) The employer shall review with each employee upon initial 
assignment those parts of the plan which the employee must know to 
protect the employee in the event of an emergency. The written plan 
shall be kept at the workplace and made available for employee review. 
For those employers with 10 or fewer employees the plan may be 
communicated orally to employees and the employer need not maintain a 
written plan.
    (b) Fire prevention plan--(1) Scope and application. This paragraph 
(b) applies to all fire prevention plans required by a particular OSHA 
standard. The fire prevention plan shall be in writing, except as 
provided in the last sentence of paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of this section.
    (2) Elements. The following elements, at a minimum, shall be 
included in the fire prevention plan:
    (i) A list of the major workplace fire hazards and their proper 
handling and storage procedures, potential ignition sources (such as 
welding, smoking and others) and their control procedures, and the type 
of fire protection equipment or systems which can control a fire 
involving them;
    (ii) Names or regular job titles of those personnel responsible for 
maintenance of equipment and systems installed to prevent or control 
ignitions or fires; and
    (iii) Names or regular job titles of those personnel responsible for 
control of fuel source hazards.
    (3) Housekeeping. The employer shall control accumulations of 
flammable and combustible waste materials and residues so that they do 
not contribute to a fire emergency. The housekeeping procedures shall be 
included in the written fire prevention plan.
    (4) Training. (i) The employer shall apprise employees of the fire 
hazards of the materials and processes to which they are exposed.
    (ii) The employer shall review with each employee upon initial 
assignment those parts of the fire prevention plan which the employee 
must know to protect the employee in the event of an emergency. The 
written plan shall be kept in the workplace and made available for 
employee review. For those employers with 10 or fewer employees, the 
plan may be communicated orally to employees and the employer need not 
maintain a written plan.
    (5) Maintenance. The employer shall regularly and properly maintain, 
according to established procedures, equipment and systems installed on 
heat producing equipment to prevent accidental ignition of combustible 
materials. The maintenance procedures shall be included in the written 
fire prevention plan.

[45 FR 60703, Sept. 12, 1980]

           Appendix to Subpart E to Part 1910--Means of Egress

    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(a)(2) 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.

[[Page 157]]

    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 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

[[Page 158]]

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]