Is Fall Protection Needed At A Fire Company For Truck Maintenance?

When working on top of a fire truck, do firefighters need to use fall protection? The logical answer to this would seem to be yes, because a fire truck is over 4 feet tall. The legal answer is: it depends. According to OSHA,  Federal OSHA regulations do not have jurisdiction over State, municipal, or volunteer fire departments.

Section 3(5) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 specifically excludes Federal OSHA’s authority over employees of State and local government. The Act provides for States to assume responsibility for occupational safety and health programs under the States’ own plans, which must be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. Each state plan must include coverage of public employees of the state, and it must be “at least as effective” as Federal OSHA’s protection of private sector employees.

Many fire houses do not have enough overhead space to install permanent fall protection over the trucks to allow a firefighter to tie off. For this reason, it is usually the fire department’s responsibility to come up with Standard Operating Guidelines (or SOGs) to keep firefighters safe when working on top of the trucks preforming their duties. Most trucks have hand grips to hold on to while on top of them, but there are no tie offs.

Because very few firefighters fall off the trucks while performing their duties, it might seem like fire company fall protection isn’t an important issue. However, even one fall is too many, because they usually result in death.

One such incident I found was that of a 38 year old male volunteer firefighter who fell 10 feet from the hose bed of a fire engine. He had returned to the station after a fire and was preparing the engine for future calls by replacing the hose they had used from the hose bed during the fire. After he had done this, he was putting the hose bed cover on, when he slipped and fell, landing on his head on the concrete below. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The investigation showed that the station did not have any SOGs in place on the correct procedures or safe methods for reloading the hose or securing the hose bed cover.

Rigid Lifelines can offer solutions for this problem to work just about anywhere. We can install permanent systems overhead where there is room, such as our Ceiling-Mounted Monorail or Traveling Bridge Fall Arrest Systems, including freestanding options when there is nothing overhead to mount to. We also offer several portable systems, such as the Rigid Lifelines Griffin or Portable Box Frame, that can easily be moved into place when needed and stored out of the way when not.

Firefighting is already a very dangerous job. Anything that can be done to keep firefighters safe, whether on the fireground or at the station, should be done. As I stated before, even one death is too many, and everything that can be done should be done to prevent it.

About the Author

Phil Hackler is a Regional Sales Manager for Spanco and Rigid Lifelines with over 30 years of experience in the crane and hoist industry. He has gained valuable industry knowledge throughout his various positions, including field service technician, operations, manufacturing, and sales.