Page 81 - Occupational Health & Safety, July 2018

The NFPA 1620 standard, updated in 2015, is intended to help responders manage emergen- cies effectively so that occupants and response personnel are protected.
making requirements for FGAN fires, including risk assessment, scene size-up, and situational awareness
■ National Incident Management System and Incident Com- mand System
According to the recommendations information1 available on CSB’s website, FEMA in July 2016 announced a funding opportu- nity for training in various formats on hazardous materials, with the hazmat applicants also directed to propose training that fo- cuses on the issues related to FGAN. And on Sept. 16, 2016, FEMA awarded two $1 million grants to the Georgia Tech Research Insti- tute and the International Association of Fire Fighters to develop and deliver hazmat training that is focused on FGAN hazards.
Based on these FEMA actions, the Chemical Safety Board judged that FEMA had gone “above and beyond the expectations” for the two recommendations and voted to designate both recom- mendations as “Closed—Exceeds Recommended Action.”
Fifteen people died in the explosion, including a dozen volun- teer firefighters.
When CSB added Emergency Planning and Response as a Most Wanted Safety Improvement, the agency had conducted 12 investigations and issued 46 recommendations intended to address deficiencies found in a community’s, facility’s, or emergency re- sponder’s response to an incident at a chemical facility, the agency reported, adding that its recommendations department deter- mined the majority of CSB’s recommendations on this issue could be categorized in these six areas:
■ training for emergency responders, including hazmat training
■ local emergency planning and community response plans and teams
■ use of community notification systems
■ use of an incident command system and the National Inci- dent Management System
■ conducting emergency response exercises
■ information sharing between facilities, emergency respond- ers, and the community
Jerry Laws is the editor of Occupational Health & Safety.
REFERENCES
1. https://www.csb.gov/recommendations/?F_InvestigationId=3577 2. www.nfpa.org
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