Document ID: OSHA-2011-0009-0005
Agency: osha
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Fire Brigades Standard
Posted Date: 2014-05-23T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29803-29804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12023]

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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 its proposal to 
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements 
specified in the Fire Brigades Standard (29 CFR 1910.156).

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
July 22, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit a copy of your comments and 
attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2011-0009, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 
DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier 
service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket 
Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the 
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2011-0009) for the Information Collection 
Request (ICR). All comments, including any personal information you 
provide, are placed in the public docket without change, and may be 
made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further 
information on submitting comments see the ``Public Participation'' 
heading in the section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; 
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download from the Web site. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at 
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate 
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its 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 accord with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (PRA-95) (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, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's 
estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the 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 OSHA to obtain such information with minimum burden upon 
employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce 
to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts 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 to do so. 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

[[Page 29804]]

brigade members regarding special hazards such as the storage and use 
of flammable liquids and gases, toxic chemicals, radioactive sources, 
and water-reactive substances that may be present during fires and 
other emergencies, as well as about 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:
     Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
     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;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     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 an adjustment decrease of the previous estimate 
of 6,292 burden hours to 2,510 burden hours, a total decrease of 3,782 
hours. The adjustment is primarily due to a decrease in the estimated 
number of manufacturing facilities with 100 or more workers.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Fire Brigades Standards (29 CFR 1910.156).
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0075.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 23,247.
    Total Responses: 3,487.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from five minutes (.08 hour) to 
obtain a physician's certificate to 2 hours to develop or revise an 
organizational plan.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,510.
    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 http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); 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. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the 
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). 
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them 
to your comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, 
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the 
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627).
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this Web 
site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not 
available from this Web site and for assistance in using the Internet 
to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, 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. 1-2012 
(77 FR 3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC on May 20, 2014.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2014-12023 Filed 5-22-14; 8:45 am]
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