BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2146
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Date of Hearing: April 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hern�ndez, Chair
AB 2146 (Skinner) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT : Occupational safety: firefighters.
SUMMARY : Requires the Occupational Safety and Health Standards
Board (Standards Board) to review standards for firefighters'
personal protective equipment, as specified. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires the Standards Board, within 30 days of the adoption
by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) of new
standards for firefighters' personal protection equipment, to
commence a review of existing regulations for personal
protective clothing and equipment for firefighters to
determine if the new standards provide a greater degree of
protection to a firefighter.
2)Provides that if the Standards Board determines that the
standards adopted by NFPA provide a greater degree of
protection, it shall consider modifying existing regulations
to reflect the NFPA standards as a new safety standard for all
employers of firefighters in the state.
EXISTING LAW establishes the California Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1973 for the framework of the state plan.
Existing regulations establish standards for the minimum
requirements of personal protective clothing and equipment for
firefighters when exposed to the hazards of firefighting
activities and training activities involving a hazardous
environment.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill is sponsored by the California
Professional Firefighters, who argues that it is necessary to
ensure that firefighter personal protective clothing and
equipment (PPE) standards are up-to-date, thereby resulting in a
direct and critical effect of reducing the number of job-caused
injuries and illnesses sustained by firefighters due to
outdated, inadequate PPE.
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National Fire Protection Association PPE Standards
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is an
international nonprofit organization established in 1896
comprised of firefighter professionals, industry
representatives, and others concerned with fire safety.
According to the NFPA website, the organization's mission is to
reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the
quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and
standards, research, training, and education.
NFPA publishes over 300 codes and standards that are designed to
minimize the risk and effects of fire by establishing criteria
for building, processing, design, service, and installation in
the United States, as well as many other countries. It also
establishes minimum requirements related to fire prevention and
suppression activities, including PPE standards.
According to NFPA, its PPE standards are nationally recognized
consensus standards updated at least every five years, which
firefighter employers may choose to adopt and ascribe to
voluntarily. Many employers currently purchase PPE that meet or
exceeds the minimum NFPA standards.
According to NFPA, in order to ensure the optimum protection of
firefighters, regardless of condition, PPE should be updated at
least every five years and pulled from the field after ten
years, which equates to two NFPA standard cycles. Adherence to
the NFPA standards, as well as to a PPE retirement criteria is
crucial to ensuring that the clothing and equipment used by
firefighters is as up-to-date as possible. NFPA states that
fire protection entities that ascribe to such criteria
ultimately are able to better protect their first responders by
reducing or eliminating altogether those on-the-job injuries
that can otherwise be attributed to the use of outdated or
inadequate PPE.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :
The sponsor of this measure, the California Professional
Firefighters, states the following:
"Under current law, all employers in California who employ
firefighters are required to provide, at minimum, PPE for
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their employees who engage in firefighting activities,
which meet specified standards adopted by the CalOSHA
Board.
With respect to some of the firefighting PPE standards,
however, such as firefighter head, hand and wrist
protections, the CalOSHA standards have not been updated by
the Board in over 25 years. Other state firefighting PPE
standards, such as respiratory and body protections have
not been updated by the Board in roughly 15 years.
Meanwhile, technological advances have brought to market
many safer and more effective alternatives for firefighter
PPE?.
?While the concept of firefighter PPE has been in existence
nearly as long as most fire protection entities, the
evolution of these protective garments and equipment -- and
their manufacturing standards -- has ultimately been shaped
by field experience. For example, after assessing the
devastation of the 2007 southern California firestorms, the
Blue Ribbon Fire Commission's Task Force (an 18-member
independent panel of fire service professionals) published
its report, which, among other things, confirmed a key
recommendation identified three years prior by the Blue
Ribbon Fire Commission after the 2003 southern California
fire siege: For those California fire agencies charged with
responding to wildland urban interface incidents, the
CalOSHA-approved Title 8 requirements governing PPE for
firefighters needed to adequately reflect firefighter PPE
needs when responding to wildland urban emergencies.
Whether mitigating a fire, emergency medical situation,
hazardous materials incident or terrorist attack, a
firefighter's only means of protection is their PPE,
including their turnout coats, pants, helmets, boots,
gloves and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), to
name a few. The PPE worn by firefighters is intended to
encapsulate them and provide protection from the harmful
and often deadly outside environment."
PRIOR RELATED LEGISLATION :
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AB 2148 (De Le�n) of 2008 would have required the Standards
Board to review and adopt revised state regulations that are at
a minimum in conformance with the NFPA PPE standards by December
31, 2009. AB 2148 was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California Nurses Association
California Professional Firefighters (sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091