New
York, NY
(March
15,
2010) –
Legislation
about
emergency
escape
and self
rescue
ropes
and
system
components
for
firefighters
has
created
a lot of
confusion
for fire
departments
throughout
the
state of
New
York.
Department
of Labor
Code
Rule
800.7 is
now in
full
effect
and
departments
must
take
immediate
action
to
become
compliant,
or risk
receiving
a
citation
from
PESH.
The law
requires
that the
authority
having
jurisdiction
take
four
distinct
steps:
completing
a risk
assessment,
reviewing
and
editing
SOPs,
purchasing
equipment
if
needed
and
training
firefighters.
Despite
a legal
challenge,
the
“final”
regulation
went
into
effect
on
December
2, 2009.
Although
another
lawsuit
regarding
the
legislation
is
ongoing,
the New
York
State
Association
of Fire
Chiefs
encourages
departments
not to
delay
compliance
with the
final
regulation.
“Departments
need to
be
moving
forward
on
compliance
with
this
legislation,”
said
Thomas
LaBelle,
Executive
Director
of the
New York
State
Association
of Fire
Chiefs.
“If the
Department
of Labor
shows up
and you
have
done
nothing,
you are
going to
have
trouble.”
“The law
has gone
into
effect,”
said
Chief
John P
Brown,
Chief
Instructor
at the
Nassau
County
Fire
Service
Academy.
“There
are no
more
deadlines.
The
deadlines
have
come and
gone.”
All of
us in
the fire
service
may
struggle
to
understand
the
intricacies
of the
new law,
the
implications
of the
lawsuit
and how
best to
comply
for each
of our
individual
departments.
We leave
it to
the
lawyers
and
politicians
to
battle
it out.
Meanwhile,
we have
a few
ideas
that
might
help:
Step
One:
Complete
a Risk
Assessment.
The
first
step
toward
compliance
is to
conduct
a
thorough
risk
assessment
to
determine
when
escape
ropes
might be
necessary
and what
type of
ropes
and
system
components
will be
needed.
That
risk
assessment
should
put into
writing
the
types of
structures
firefighters
may
encounter,
as well
as the
height
of
buildings
in the
area and
how many
buildings
there
are at
each
height.
Each
department
is
responsible
for
providing
appropriate
escape
equipment
to
interior
firefighters,
even
when
those
firefighters
are
working
outside
their
own
district.
Therefore
you must
be ready
with
equipment
that
meets
your own
needs,
as well
as the
needs of
districts
to which
you
provide
reasonable
mutual
aid.
Step
Two:
Review
and Edit
your
SOPs.
Once
a risk
assessment
is
completed,
you will
need to
look
closely
at your
standard
operating
procedures
to
determine
whether
those
procedures
allow
for
effective
rescue
of
firefighters
from
elevations,
or if
changes
are
needed
to
address
this
possibility.
Step
Three:
Purchase
Equipment
if
Needed.
The
risk
assessment
and SOP
changes
also
provide
a guide
to the
type of
equipment
each
department
will
need for
its
individual
circumstances
– and
purchasing
equipment,
if it is
needed,
is the
next
step to
compliance.
Appropriate
equipment
must be
provided
for
interior
structural
firefighters
– those
firefighters
at risk
of
entrapment
at
elevation.
Step
Four:
Train
your
Firefighters.
Once
appropriate
ropes
and
system
components
are
available
for all
interior
firefighters,
the last
step in
compliance
is to
train
them
thoroughly
on any
new
equipment.
While
becoming
compliant
may seem
difficult
or
confusing,
there
are a
few
pieces
of
advice
that may
help the
process
go more
smoothly.
-
Consult
your
legal
counsel.
Ask
specifically
how
this
legislation
directly
affects
your
department
and
what
steps
you
need
to
take.
Get
clarification
on
anything
you’ve
heard
from
other
sources.
-
Ask
for
advice
and
input.
Ask
departments
bordering
yours
for
their
risk
assessments
and
consider
working
from
those
where
appropriate.
-
Work
together.
Get
together
with
your
mutual
aid
area
and
see
if
you
can
save
dollars
and
time
by
purchasing
equipment
together
or
training
together.
