CPF

CPF-Sponsored Legislation Updates Firefighters PPE Standards

Assemblyman Kevin De Leon (D - Los Angeles)

Assemblyman Kevin De Leon (D - Los Angeles) has introduced CPF-sponsored legislation, AB 2184, which would require the review and improvement of personal protective equipment (PPE) standards for firefighters.

Specifically, this bill would require the California Occupational Safety & Health Administration (CalOSHA) Board to review and adopt revised state regulations for PPE that are consistent with standards recognized by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Currently, all employers in California are required to provide personal protective equipment for their employees who engage in firefighting activities that meet specified standards adopted by the CalOSHA.

With respect to head, hand, and wrist protections, the CalOSHA standards have not been updated by the Board for over 20 years. And other state PPE standards, such as respiratory and body protections, have not been updated in roughly 10 years.

After assessing the devastation of the 2007 southern California fires, the Blue Ribbon Fire Commission’s Task Force (BRTF) affirmed that PPE for firefighters needed to adequately reflect firefighter personal protective needs when responding to wildland urban emergencies.

The NFPA has been charged with creating and maintaining minimum standards and requirements for fire prevention and suppression activities, training and equipment, as well as other life-safety codes and standards. The NPFA PPE standards are nationally recognized consensus standards, however fire departments are not required to adopt them.

To ensure optimum protection for firefighters, PPE should be updated at least every five years and pulled from the field after 10 years, which equates to two NFPA standard cycles.

To this end, AB 2184 would require the CalOSHA Board to review and adopt revised state regulations that are, at minimum, in conformance with the nationally recognized firefighter PPE consensus standards of the NFPA. And if the Board fails to do this, the most recent editions of the national firefighting PPE standards contained in the federal regulations would become the firefighting PPE standards applicable in California.

AB 2184 was approved 8 to 0 by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, and has been held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee's Suspense File.