An Act To Revise the Minimum Firefighter Safety Standards
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1789
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: DUPLESSIE, EDMONDS, BLANCHETTE, BULL, RICHARDSON, SMITH, TREADWELL, NASS
Amends: 26 MRSA §2101, 26 MRSA §2102, 26 MRSA §2104, 26 MRSA §2105

Legislative Document 
No. 1789 
H.P.1311 
House of Representatives, December 22,2003 
An Act To Revise the Minimum Firefighter Safety Standards 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 17, 2003. Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative DUPLESSIE of Westbrook. 
Cosponsored by Senator EDMONDS of Cumberland and 
17/~ 
/17. 77!d£~ 
MilLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BLANCHETTE of Bangor, BULL of Freeport, RICHARDSON of 
Brunswick, SMITH of Van Buren, TREADWELL of Carmel, Senator: NASS of York. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §2101, sub-§§3 and 4 are enacted to read: 
3. 
Education. 
"Education" means the process of imparting 
knowledge 
or 
skill 
through 
systematic 
instruction, 
but 
not 
necessarily formal classroom instruction. 
4. 
Training. 
"Training" 
means the process of making a 
firefighter proficient through instruction and hands-on practice 
in the operation of equipment, including respiratory protection 
equipment, that is expected to be used in the performance of the 
firefighter's assigned duties. 
Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §2102, as corrected by RR 1997, c. 1, §25, is 
amended to read: 
§2102. 
Firefiqhter traininq and education 
1. 
Traininq 
and 
education 
requirements. 
Each 
fire 
department shall provide a training and education program wbieb 
~ 
meets the fire department's needs and includes the following: 
A. 
Training and education in accordance with Title 30-1.., 
section 3154, subsection 2; 
B. 
Training 
and 
education 
in 
the 
use 
of 
protective 
equipment required by this chapter; 
C. 
Training and education by the fire chief or bis the fire 
chief's designee in accordance with National Fire Protection 
Association standards; 
D. 
Training 
and 
education 
to 
prevent 
occupational 
accidents, deaths, injuries and illnesses; 
E. 
Training and education for all firefighters commensurate 
with the duties that they are expected to perform prior to 
performing those duties; 
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H. 
Training and education in the safe handling and use of 
hazardous substances for firefighters required to handle the 
Page l-LR2456(1) 
substances. 
Training 
and 
education 
must 
include 
the 
potential hazards involved and the required personal hygiene 
and protective measures; and 
I. 
Training and education 
maintenance 
and 
limitations 
assigned to fh:e--4e-]?aFt:me:et: 
their use. 
in the care, use, inspection, 
of 
the 
protective 
equipment 
firefighters 
a~-~va~~aale for 
2. 
Records. Each fire department shall maintain complete 
records of individual training and education for firefighters. 
Sec. 3. 26 MRS A §2103, as amended by PL 1987, c. 552, §§1 to 
and c. 769, Pt. B, §7, is further amended to read: 
S2lD3. 
Standards for equipment and clothing 
A:ey 
Unless 
otherwise 
specified, 
any 
reference 
in 
this 
section to a standard is to the most recent standard in effect. 
1. 
Protective equipment. 
E*eept:-a£-~~~-~&-SRaseet:iaH 
6r--t.he The fire department shall provide each firefighter with 
the appropriate equipment to protect the firefighter from the 
hazards of the work environment to which the firefighter is 
likely to be exposed. The firefighter shall use the protective 
equipment 
whenever 
exposed 
to 
the 
hazards 
for 
which 
that 
equipment 
is 
provided. 
If 
a 
fire 
department 
purchases 
new 
protective equipment. that equipment must meet the standard in 
effect at the 
time of the purchase. 
If 
a 
fire department 
acquires protective clothing that is not new, that protective 
clothing must. at a minimum, meet the standards that were in 
effect in 1987. 
Any protective clothing that was purchased or 
acquired 
prior 
to 
1987 
that 
does 
not 
meet 
National 
Fire 
Protection Association standards must be replaced. 
Protective 
equipment must consist of: 
A. 
Protective clothing; 
B-1. 
Helmet ensemble, including eye and face protection; 
C. 
Foot protection; 
D. 
Hand protection; 
F. 
Hearing protection; and 
G. 
Self-contained breathing apparatus. 
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3. 
Protective clothing. Protective clothing consists of a 
coat 
and 
trousers 
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E~~eEi~ate~. Purchases 
of 
new protective clothing by 
a 
fire 
department must 
meet 
or exceed the National 
Fire Protection 
Association standards. 
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4-A. 
Helmet ensemble. 
Purchases of new helmet ensembles l~ 
a fire department must meet or exceed National Fire Protection 
Association standards. 
5. 
Foot protection. 
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Purchases of new boots 
by fire departments must meet or exceed the American Nationa.l 
Standards 
Institute 
standard 
Z41.1 
and 
Code 
of 
Federa.l 
Regulations, 
Part 
1910, 
General 
Industry 
Standards 
of 
the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National FiJ:e 
Protection Association standards. 
6. 
Hand 
protection. 
Hand 
protection 
consists 
of 
heat 
insulating 
gloves 
or 
mittens 
waiea 
that 
are 
not 
readily 
flammable. Purchases of new hand protection by a fire department 
must meet or exceed 
69-~00e---G-~-¥eQe~al-~-a-t~-t>nS..,--P.a-F-t;--;b9;bI~T 
GeRe~a;b--l.fl.Q.y~~~y--St.-and<H'46__-G-~-t;.ae-Q.e~.ypa_t.~~a~--Saf-e-t.-y---a-RG-Weal:Ea 
AEiFAiRist~atieR-aRa National Fire Protection Association standards. 
7. 
Self-contained breathing apparatus. 
Purchases of 
n'3W 
respiratory apparatus 
by 
a 
department must 
ae--e],.assiEieQ--as 
F~es6~~e--QeFAaRQT--&e*E--eeR&aiReQ meet National Fire Protection 
Association standards 
and have 
a 
minimum of 
1/2 hour 
normal 
service life plus an additional 1/2 hour capacity in a 
spare 
cylinder. 
The entire unit must 
meet 
tae--MiRe--Safety--Wea],.ta 
AQFAiBi6t.~at.4€1.fl..,--tae National Institute for Occupational Safety 
and 
Health 
and 
t:ae 
National 
Fire 
Protection 
Association 
standards. 
Self-contained breathing apparatus must contain a 
minimum air 
supply of gQ% 90% of the rated capacity of the cylinder to be 
considered in-service. 
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8. 
Personal alert safety system. 
Each firefighter wearing 
a self-contained breathing apparatus must be provided with and 
shall use a personal alert safety system device in a hazardous 
area. 
The device must meet National Fire Protection Association 
standards. 
Purchases 
of 
new 
personal 
alert 
safety 
syst:em 
systems, 
PASS, 
by a fire department must meet or exceed the 
National Fire Protection Association standards. 
9. 
Fire service life safety rope, harness and hardware. 
Purchases of new fire service life safety rope, 
harness 
and 
hardware by a fire department must meet National Fire Protection 
Association standards. 
10. 
Hearing protection. 
Each fire department shall provide 
and 
each firefighter 
shall 
use 
hearing protection 
when 
the 
firefighter is operating or riding on fire apparatus 
and is 
subject to noise in excess of 90 decibels. 
Hearing protection 
must be provided and used when the firefighter is exposed to 
noise in excess of 90 decibels from power tools or equipment, 
except in si tuations when the use of the protective equipment 
would 
create 
an 
additional 
hazard 
to 
the 
user. 
Hearing 
protection 
must 
conform 
to 
Occupational 
Safety 
and 
Health 
Administration standards, 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 
1910.95. 
Sec. 4. 26 MRSA §2104, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 356, 
is amended to read: 
1. 
Eye, face protection. Each fire department shall provide 
and each firefighter shall use eye aRa or face 
protection~ 
both, when the firefighter is engaged in fire suppression and 
other operations involving hazards to the eyes and face at all 
times when the face is not protected by the full facepiece of 
self-contained breathing apparatus. 
Sec. 5. 26 MRSA §2104, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 3!i6, 
is repealed. 
Sec. 6. 26 MRSA §2105, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 3!i6, 
is amended to read: 
1. 
All 
components, 
air 
supply devices, 
personal 
all~rt 
safety system devices and warning devices. A complete inspection 
of all components, 
air supply devices, 
personal alert 
safE~ 
system devices and warning devices to be performed after each use 
and: 
A. 
For volunteer associations and on-call fire departments, 
every month; and 
B. 
For fuli-time fire departments, every week; 
SUMMARY 
This bill updates the firefighter safety standards to meet 
National Fire Protection Association standards for most personal 
safety equipment. 
The bill also moves language requiring hearing 
protection to the provlsl0n of law establishing standards for 
equipment and clothing.