Town of Kennebunkport, ME - Kennebunkport Fire Department

Personal protective equipment including those for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, protective shields and barriers shall be provided, utilized and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition whenever deemed necessary by reason of hazards, processes or environment.

This policy applies to all employees who by nature of their job function have the potential to be exposed or come into contact with chemical, physical, radiological or biological hazards which by this exposure can cause illness, injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body.

1. Ensuring personal protective equipment is available and providing personal protective equipment as required or upon request to all employees; an

2. Ensuring personal protective equipment is being used by each affected employee during all job tasks which require such protection.

1. Assessing the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or are likely to be present, which necessitate the use of personal protective equipment;

3. Selecting personal protective equipment that properly fits each affected employee; and meets the standards of:

Hand protection shall be worn when hands are exposed to hazards such as those from skin absorption of harmful substances, severe cuts or lacerations, severe abrasions, punctures, chemical bums, thermal burns and harmful temperature extremes.

The type of hand protection used shall be based on the performance characteristics of the hand protection relative to the task(s) to be performed, conditions present, duration of use, and the hazards and potential hazards identified.

1. The toxic properties of the chemical(s) must be determined; in particular, the ability of the chemical to cause local effects on the skin and/or to pass through the skin and cause systemic effects;

3. For mixtures and formulated products (unless specific test data are available), a glove shall be selected on the basis of the chemical component with the shortest breakthrough time, since it is possible for solvents to carry active ingredients through polymeric materials; and

4. Employees shall be able to remove the gloves in such a manner as to prevent skin contamination.

Head protection shall be worn in areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from impact, flying or falling objects (e.g., working below other workers who are using tools and materials which could fall through grates), or electrical shock and burns.

Helmets for protection against impact and penetration of falling objects shall comply with the NFPA 1972.

Suitable eye protection or face protection shall be worn when there is the potential for exposure to the eyes or face from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acid or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors or potentially injurious light radiation. Side protection is required when there is a hazard potential from flying objects, which will be provide by the wearing ofand using of S.C.B.A.

Eye protection shall be durable, comfortable and easy to clean. Persons whose vision requires the use of corrective lenses and who by nature of their job duties require eye protection shall wear goggles or a full face shield that can be worn over the prescription lenses.

There are four general classes of eye and face protection: safety glasses, face shields, goggles and welding helmets. The type of protection required shall be determined by the type and degree of the hazard and shall comply with ANSI Z87.1-1989 “American National Standard Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection

Foot protection shall be worn when there is the potential for injury to the feet from falling or rolling objects, objects piercing the sole of the foot, electrical hazards, hot surfaces and slippery surfaces.

Foot protection shall comply with NFPA 1974 or ANSI Z-1991 “American National Standard for Personal Protection -Protective Footwear”.

Use of respirators shall be done in accordance with the Respiratory Protection Program, Policy 6.

Full body protection shall be worn when there is a potential for contamination or exposure to other parts of the body (e.g., legs, arms, back, chest) from heat, splashes from hot metals and liquids, impacts, cuts, chemicals and radiation.

Personal protective equipment shall be inspected, cleaned and maintained at regular intervals so that the personal protective equipment can be discarded, changed and/or decontaminated as deemed necessary. At a minimum, all personal protective equipment shall be discarded when it has become contaminated, worn, torn or has other integrity problems. Protective eqipment shall be inspected yearly or after exposure to hazardous conditions including heavy smoke and heat exposure.

Individuals should hose down personal protective equipment and air dry after each exposure from fire and fire byproducts, gear exposed to adverse biological conditions shall be cleaned as specified in Policy 1.

Personal protective equipment provides~the requisite protection. It is important to ensure that contaminated personal protective equipment which cannot be decontaminated is disposed in a manner that protects employees from exposure to hazards.

Note: Inspect personal protective equipment before each use for tears, punctures, holes, cuts, cracks, embedded foreign objects and texture changes (e.g., swelling, softening, hardening, becoming sticky or inelastic).

Initial training shall be provided by the Kennebunkport Fire Department as presented in IFSTA Fire Fighter 1 lesson plans for each fire fighter who is required to use personal protective equipment.. This training shall utilize the “Fire Fighter 1 Personal Protective Equipment “ training lesson plans which shall be updated to ensure consistency with changes in protective equipment and work processes. Each employee shall be trained in at least the following:

• The proper care, maintenance, useful life and disposal of the personal protective equipment.

Each affected employee shall demonstrate an understanding of the aforementioned training and the ability to use personal protective equipment properly before being allowed to perform work requiring the use of personal protective equipment.

When there is reason to believe that any affected employee who has already been trained does not have the understanding and skill as required above, Fire Department training personnel shall retrain each such employee. Circumstances where retraining is required include, but are not limited to, situations where:

• Changes in the types of personal protective equipment to be used render previous training obsolete; or

• Inadequacies in an affected employee’s knowledge or use of assigned personal protective equipment indicate that the employee has not retained the requisite understanding or skill.

The Fire Chief shall verify that each affected employee has received and understood the required training through a written certification containing the name of each employee trained, the date(s) of training and the subject of the certification.