Workplace Health and Safety

The PEOSH Standards for firefighters contains requirements for the organization, training, and personal protective equipment of fire service organizations and applies to all fire service members in the public sector performing structural fire fighting.

The PEOSH Standards for Firefighters is enforced by the NJ Departments of Labor & Workforce Development (NJDLWD) and NJ Department of Health (NJDOH). Below is a breakdown of which agency enforces which subchapter of the regulation. 

NJDLWD:

10.3 Organization, training and education
10.4 Personnel limitations on ability to perform
10.5 Protective clothing
10.6 Protective clothing; foot and leg protection
10.7 Protective clothing; body protection
10.8 Protective clothing; hand protection
10.9 Protective clothing; head, eye and face
10.11 Life-safety rope, harness and hardware
10.12 Personal alert safety system
10.15 Fire apparatus operations
10.16 Maintenance of firefighter equipment

NJDOH:

10.10 Respiratory protection devices
10.13 Hearing protection
10.14 Filling air cylinders

PEOSH Standards for Firefighters [pdf 32k]

• PEOSH Occupational Noise Standard
  Noise is not a new hazard. Too much noise exposure may cause a temporary change in hearing (your ears may feel stuffed up) or a temporary ringing in your ears (tinnitus). These short-term problems usually go away within a few minutes or hours after leaving the noise. However, repeated exposures to loud noise can lead to permanent, incurable hearing loss or tinnitus. The standard recommends removing hazardous noise from the workplace whenever possible and using hearing protectors in those situations.

• OSHA: The federal OSHA Web site contains information for emergency responders.
  
  

• Firefighter Injury Investigation Reports
  
  NJ FACE Firefighter Injury Project (FIP) Investigation Reports Archives
  
  
  • Firefighter Suffered Respiratory Arrest As A Result of Smoke Inhalation
  • Three Firefighters Injured While Recharging A Pressurized Water Fire Extinguisher
  • Two Firefighters Injured Due to Exposure to A Refrigerant Gas
  • Two Firefighters Injured in A Fire With Reported Missing Persons
  • Three Firefighters Injured In A Multi-Residential House Fire
    
    
  NJ FACE Workplace Fatality Investigation Reports
   
  • Fire Chief Dies 10 Days After Exposure to Toxic Gases and Smoke [pdf 31k]
    
    
  NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program
  
  NIOSH conducts independent investigations of fire fighter line of duty deaths. This Web page provides access to all NIOSH investigation reports and other fire fighter safety resources. A search feature allows users to select "New Jersey" reports separately.
  
  
• Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) To protect emergency responders against airborne agents in terrorist attacks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a program to approve SCBA for use by firefighters and other first responders to terrorist attacks. NIOSH approval under the program signifies that an SCBA is expected to provide needed protection to first responders in situations where an act of terror has released harmful chemicals, pathogens, or radioactive materials into the air. Approvals are based on positive results from rigorous tests on sample units submitted to NIOSH by manufacturers, and from stringent evaluation of manufacturers' quality-control practices, technical specifications, and other documentation.