Regulatory & Standards Setting Bodies

There are several federal and non-governmental entities which have established standards related to firefighting and firefighting equipment. These agencies are listed below.

Federal Agencies

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) OSHA is a regulatory agency under the U.S. Department of Labor that was created by Congress in 1970. Its role is to work with employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and to implement new, or improve existing workplace health and safety programs. One of OSHA�s functions is to develop and enforce mandatory job safety and health standards.

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) NIOSH is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services that conducts research on various safety and health problems, provides technical assistance to OSHA, and recommends standards for OSHA�s adoption. NIOSH establishes permissible exposure limits to chemicals and other workplace hazards, and tests and approves self-contained breathing apparatus.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) The EPA has created several regulations which affect firefighters in the area of hazardous materials response. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 got the EPA involved in regulating response to hazardous material incidents. Title I of SARA made training and response planning mandatory for all fire departments that intend to respond to hazardous materials incidents. EPA regulations also help to support local efforts for hazardous materials safety for communities and the environment. Title II of SARA includes the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, which requires the EPA to work with states and localities to plan for hazardous materials incidents, and to give communities the tools to obtain information about hazards in their localities. Under this section, businesses and citizens who store hazardous materials are required to inform the fire department about the types of materials, their quantities, and their hazards.
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) The DOT is involved in firefighter health and safety issues in several ways. First, DOT regulates the construction, testing, and maintenance of compressed gas cylinders. Second, DOT has umbrella authority for developing hazardous materials transportation safety policy, and helps provide sources of funding for hazardous materials training. For example, the Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act of 1990 directed DOT to collect registration fees from shippers and carriers of hazardous materials. These funds are then put into a national grants program to help train emergency responders to deal with hazardous materials incidents. DOT has also established requirements for drivers of certain motor vehicles (including fire trucks in some states) to obtain commercial drivers� licenses. Finally, DOT has established standards for training of emergency medical responders as well as standards for equipment carried on ambulances.

Non-Governmental Entities

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) The NFPA is a private organization based out of Quincy, Massachusetts. Although it has no regulatory enforcement powers, it serves an extremely important function by bringing together experts to write and update standards which affect firefighting and fire protection. The NFPA works through a consensus process, which means that experts and interested parties representing different points of view are assigned to a technical committee where they present and debate ideas and ultimately a free on the most reasonable language for each standard. Once the technical committee reaches agreement, the standard is considered by the NFPA membership and finally is reviewed by NFPA�s Standards Council as a matter of quality control.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) ANSI is a consensus standards organization that serves as a clearinghouse for a range of nationally coordinated voluntary standards on a wide variety of topics, including safety and health. Its members include industrial firms, trade associations, technical societies, labor organizations, consumer organizations, and government agencies. ANSI gives the status of American National Standards to those standards developed by agreement from all groups concerned. Many NFPA standards have been given this status by ANSI. And, ANSI standards developed by others organizations are often referenced by NFPA and OSHA, as well as some states, in their firefighter safety and health standards.

Resources

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