Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-305 - Safety standards for firefighters › Section 296-305-02001 - Personal protective equipment and protective clothing

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Note:
For wildland firefighting personal protective
							 equipment and clothing requirements see WAC
							 296-305-07012,
							 Personal protective clothing and equipment for wildland firefighting.
(1) Employers
			 must provide and maintain at no cost to the employee the appropriate protective
			 ensemble/protective clothing to protect from the hazards to which the member is
			 or is likely to be exposed. Information on hazard assessments can be found in
			 WAC
			 296-800-16005.
			 Employers must ensure the use of all protective equipment and clothing required
			 by this standard. Full protective equipment designated for the task, must be
			 worn for all department activities.
(2) Firefighters must be trained in the
			 function, donning and doffing, care, use, inspection, maintenance and
			 limitations of the protective equipment assigned to them or available for their
			 use.
(3) Protective clothing and
			 protective equipment must be used and maintained in accordance with
			 manufacturer's instructions. A written maintenance, repair, retirement,
			 servicing, and inspection program must be established for protective clothing
			 and equipment. Specific responsibilities must be assigned for inspection and
			 maintenance. This requirement applies to firefighter's personally owned
			 equipment as well as equipment issued by the employer.
(4) The fire department must provide for the
			 cleaning of protective clothing and contaminated station/work uniforms at no
			 cost to the employee. Such cleaning must be performed by either a cleaning
			 service, or at a fire department facility, that is equipped to handle
			 contaminated clothing. If the fire department does its own cleaning, they must
			 follow the manufacturer's recommended cleaning procedure or the 2008 edition of
			 NFPA 1851, Standard on Selection, Care and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles
			 for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting.
(5) Personal protective equipment and
			 clothing must be of a type specified by NIOSH, MSHA, NFPA, ANSI, or as
			 specifically referenced in the appropriate section of this chapter.
(6) Station/work uniforms. Station/work
			 uniforms are not themselves intended as primary protective garments.
(a) Station/work uniforms if provided, must
			 meet the requirements as specified in the 1990 or 1994 edition of NFPA 1975,
			 Standard on Station/Work Uniforms for Fire and Emergency Services. However,
			 departments are not required to provide station/work uniforms for their
			 employees.
(b) Station/work
			 uniforms include trousers, and/or coveralls, but exclude shirts, underwear, and
			 socks.
(c) Members must not wear
			 any clothing that is determined to be unsafe due to poor thermal stability or
			 poor flame resistance when engaged in or exposed to the hazards of structural
			 firefighting. The fire department must inform members of the hazards of fabrics
			 that melt, drip, burn, stick to the skin and cause burns to the wearer due to
			 poor thermal stability or poor flame resistance, and must prohibit their use by
			 employees. Garments that are not provided by the employer, and that are made
			 from all or mostly cotton, will meet the requirements of this
			 section.
(d) Garments meeting the
			 requirements of WAC
			 296-305-07012(1),
			 meet the intent of this section.