OSHA Fire Brigade Training Requirements

A fire brigade is a trained organization of people equipped and ready to fight fires in a community or city. The training these brigades receive varies from state to state and is regulated by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration. To ensure the safety of both brigade members and victims of a fire, OSHA's training guidelines should be strictly followed.

Appropriate Training

• Before a member of a fire brigade is allowed to participate in emergency activities, he must go through education and training. This training must be commensurate with the functions and duties the member will have while working for the brigade. For those training to be leaders or training instructors themselves, they must receive more comprehensive training than a general member would receive. This training may occur in-house or at a fire brigade training school.

Frequency

• Fire brigade members must be trained annually to ensure they are ready for situations they may not have encountered within the last year. This helps to ensure that members of the brigade can perform their duties in a way that does not endanger other members of the brigade or other employees. Fire brigade members must train for interior structure firefighting and should have a quarterly information or training session.

Quality

• Training for fire brigades must be similar and equivalent to the training conducted at the top fire training schools. Some of the schools which should match in-house training include Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute, New York State Department Fire Prevention and Control and the Louisiana State University Firemen Training Program. If there are specific needs for a fire brigade, there may be special education requirements necessary. For example, a fire brigade that might need to deal with the oil refinery industry should have education commensurate with Lamar University, Reno Fire School or Texas A & M.

Content

• There are certain special hazards that fire brigade members should be informed about during their training. These include hazards like the use and storage of flammable liquids, radioactive sources, toxic chemicals and water reactive substances the team may be exposed to during fires and emergencies. If there are any changes made to the properties of these hazards, employers should let their fire brigade know about them. Procedures to be taken in case of these special hazard situations should be described and written in detail for fire brigade members to inspect at any time.

Flexibility

• The training requirements by OSHA are generalized to the point that some flexibility in training is possible. OSHA recognizes that there are differences between fire brigades and so the necessity for specific types of training will vary.