Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-24 - General safety and health standards › Part G-1 - MEANS OF EGRESS › Section 296-24-56701 - Appendix

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
This appendix serves as a nonmandatory guideline to assist
				  employers in complying with the appropriate requirements.
(1) Employee emergency plans. Emergency
				action plan elements. The emergency action plan should address emergencies that
				the employer may reasonably expect in the workplace. Examples are: Fire, toxic
				chemical releases; hurricanes; tornadoes; blizzards; floods; and others. The
				elements of the emergency action plan presented in WAC
				296-24-567(1)(b) can be supplemented by the following to more
				effectively achieve employee safety and health in an emergency. The employer
				should list in detail the procedures to be taken by those employees who have
				been selected to remain behind to care for essential plant operations until
				their evacuations become absolutely necessary. Essential plant operations may
				include the monitoring of plant power supplies, water supplies, and other
				essential services which cannot be shut down for every emergency alarm.
				Essential plant operations may also include chemical or manufacturing processes
				which must be shut down in stages or steps where certain employees must be
				present to assure that safe shut down procedures are completed.
The use of floor plans or workplace maps which clearly show
				  the emergency escape routes should be included in the emergency action plan.
				  Color coding will aid employees in determining their route assignments.
The employer should also develop and explain in detail what
				  rescue and medical first-aid duties are to be performed and by whom. All
				  employees are to be told what actions they are to take in these emergency
				  situations that the employer anticipates may occur in the workplace.
(2) Emergency evacuation. At the
				time of an emergency, employees should know what type of evacuation is
				necessary and what their role is in carrying out the plan. In some cases where
				the emergency is very grave, total and immediate evacuation of all employees is
				necessary. In other emergencies, a partial evacuation of nonessential employees
				with a delayed evacuation of others may be necessary for continued plant
				operation. In some cases, only those employees in the immediate area of the
				fire may be expected to evacuate or move to a safe area such as when a local
				application fire suppression system discharge employee alarm is sounded.
				Employees must be sure that they know what is expected of them in all such
				emergency possibilities which have been planned in order to provide assurance
				of their safety from fire or other emergency.
The designation of refuge or safe areas for evacuation should
				  be determined and identified in the plan. In a building divided into fire zones
				  by fire walls, the refuge area may still be within the same building but in a
				  different zone from where the emergency occurs.
Exterior refuge or safe areas may include parking lots, open
				  fields or streets which are located away from the site of the emergency and
				  which provide sufficient space to accommodate the employees. Employees should
				  be instructed to move away from the exit discharge doors of the building, and
				  to avoid congregating close to the building where they may hamper emergency
				  operations.
(3) Emergency
				action plan training. The employer should assure that an adequate number of
				employees are available at all times during working hours to act as evacuation
				wardens so that employees can be swiftly moved from the danger location to the
				safe areas. Generally, one warden for each twenty employees in the workplace
				should be able to provide adequate guidance and instruction at the time of a
				fire emergency. The employees selected or who volunteer to serve as wardens
				should be trained in the complete workplace layout and the various alternative
				escape routes from the workplace. All wardens and fellow employees should be
				made aware of handicapped employees who may need extra assistance, such as
				using the buddy system, and of hazardous areas to be avoided during
				emergencies. Before leaving, wardens should check rooms and other enclosed
				spaces in the workplace for employees who may be trapped or otherwise unable to
				evacuate the area.
After the desired degree of evacuation is completed, the
				  wardens should be able to account for or otherwise verify that all employees
				  are in the safe areas.
In buildings with several places of employment, employers are
				  encouraged to coordinate their plans with the other employers in the building.
				  A building-wide or standardized plan for the whole building is acceptable
				  provided that the employers inform their respective employees of their duties
				  and responsibilities under the plan. The standardized plan need not be kept by
				  each employer in the multiemployer building provided there is an accessible
				  location within the building where the plan can be reviewed by affected
				  employees. When multiemployer, building-wide plans are not feasible, employers
				  should coordinate their plans with the other employers within the building to
				  assure that conflicts and confusion are avoided during time of emergencies. In
				  multistory buildings where more than one employer is on a single floor, it is
				  essential that these employers coordinate their plans with each other to avoid
				  conflicts and confusion.
(4) Fire prevention housekeeping. The
				standard calls for the control of accumulations of flammable and combustible
				waste materials.
It is the intent of this standard to assure that hazardous
				  accumulations of combustible waste materials are controlled so that a fast
				  developing fire, rapid spread of toxic smoke, or an explosion will not occur.
				  This does not necessarily mean that each room has to be swept each day.
				  Employers and employees should be aware of the hazardous properties of
				  materials in their workplaces, and the degree of hazard each poses. Certainly,
				  oil soaked rags have to be treated differently than general paper trash in
				  office areas. However, large accumulations of waste paper or corrugated boxes,
				  etc., can pose a significant fire hazard. Accumulations of materials which can
				  cause large fires or generate dense smoke that are easily ignited or may start
				  from spontaneous combustion, are the types of materials with which this
				  standard is concerned. Such combustible materials may be easily ignited by
				  matches, welder's sparks, cigarettes, and similar low level energy ignition
				  sources.
(5) Maintenance of
				equipment under the fire prevention plan. Certain equipment is often installed
				in workplaces to control heat sources or to detect fuel leaks. An example is a
				temperature limit switch often found on deep-fat food fryers found in
				restaurants. There may be similar switches for high temperature dip tanks, or
				flame failure and flashback arrester devices on furnaces and similar heat
				producing equipment. If these devices are not properly maintained or if they
				become inoperative, a definite fire hazard exists. Again employees and
				supervisors should be aware of the specific type of control devices on
				equipment involved with combustible materials in the workplace and should make
				sure, through periodic inspection or testing, that these controls are operable.
				Manufacturers' recommendations should be followed to assure proper maintenance
				procedures.
Statutory Authority:
					 RCW
					 49.17.040 and
					 49.17.050. 82-02-003 (Order
					 81-32), § 296-24-56701, filed
					 12/24/81.