[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81435-81436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25800]



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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0009]


Fire Brigades Standard; Extension of the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) 
Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to 
extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the 
information collection requirements specified in the Fire Brigades 
Standard.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
January 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are 
listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index; however, some 
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to 
read or download through the website. All submissions, including 
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY 
(877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2011-0009) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal 
information, in the public docket, which may be made available online. 
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal 
information such as social security numbers and birthdates.
    For further information on submitting comments, see the ``Public 
Participation'' heading in the section of this notice titled 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman or Theda Kenney, 
Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor; 
telephone (202) 693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of the continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimal, the collection instruments are clearly understood, and 
OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et 
seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or 
appropriate for enforcement of the OSH Act or for developing 
information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational 
injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also 
requires that OSHA obtain such information with minimum burden upon 
employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce 
to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of effort in 
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    OSHA does not mandate that employers establish fire brigades; 
however, if they do so, they must comply with the provisions of the 
Fire Brigades Standard. The provisions of the standard, including the 
paperwork requirements, apply to fire brigades, industrial fire 
departments, and private or contract fire departments, but not to 
airport crash rescue units or forest firefighting operations. 
Paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), and (c)(4) contain the paperwork 
requirements of the standard.
    Under paragraph (b)(1) of the standard, employers must develop and 
maintain an organizational statement that establishes the: existence of 
a fire brigade; the basic organizational structure of the brigade; 
type, amount, and frequency of training provided to brigade members; 
expected number of members in the brigade; and functions that the 
brigade is to perform. This paragraph also specifies that the 
organizational statement must be available for review by workers, their 
designated representatives, and OSHA compliance officers. The 
organizational statement describes the functions performed by the 
brigade members and, thereby, determines the level of training and type 
of personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary for these members to 
perform their assigned functions safely. Making the statement available 
to workers, their designated representatives, and OSHA compliance 
officers ensures that the elements of the statement are consistent with 
the functions performed by the brigade members and the occupational 
hazards they experience, and that employers are providing training and 
PPE appropriate to these functions and hazards.
    To permit a worker with known heart disease, epilepsy, or emphysema 
to participate in fire brigade emergency activities, paragraph (b)(2) 
of the standard requires employers to obtain a physician's certificate 
of the worker's fitness. This provision provides employers with a 
direct and efficient means of ascertaining whether or not they can 
safely expose workers with these medical conditions to the hazards of 
firefighting operations.
    Paragraph (c)(4) of the standard requires employers to inform fire 
brigade members of special hazards, such as the storage and use of 
flammable liquids and gases, toxic chemicals, radioactive sources, 
water-reactive substances that may be present during fires and other 
emergencies, and any changes in these special hazards. It also requires 
that employers develop written procedures describing the actions that 
brigade members are to take when special hazards are present, and to 
make these procedures available in the education and training program 
and for review by brigade members.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
    <bullet> Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the agency's functions to 
protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
    <bullet> The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    <bullet> The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
    <bullet> Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection, and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB extend the approval of the information 
collection requirements contained in the

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Fire Brigades Standard (29 CFR 1910.156). The agency is requesting an 
adjustment decrease in burden hours from 2,767 to 2,695, a total 
decrease of 72 hours. The adjustment is due to a decrease in the number 
of manufacturing facilities with 100 or more workers from 25,546 to 
24,885. Also, the number of responses decreased from 3,832 to 3,733.
    OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend 
the approval of the information collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: The Fire Brigades Standard (29 CFR 1910.156).
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0075.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 24,885.
    Number of Responses: 3,733.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Varies.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,695.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); if your comments, 
including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages you may fax them to 
the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-1648; or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0009). You 
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically.
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
dates of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this 
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link.
    Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-
5627) for information about materials not available from the website, 
and for assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    James S. Frederick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this 
notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 8-2020 
(85 FR 58393).

    Signed at Washington, DC.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2023-25800 Filed 11-21-23; 8:45 am]
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