ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 555
(Senators Schoonover, Mitchell and Hunter, original sponsors)
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[Passed March 11, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend article fifteen, chapter eight of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
ten-b, relating to imposing mandatory safety procedures for
firefighters in situations deemed immediately dangerous to
life or health.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article fifteen, chapter eight of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten- b, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL
SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-10b. Mandatory safety procedures for situations deemed
immediately dangerous to life and health.
(a) For the purposes of this article:
(1) "Immediately dangerous to life or health" or "IDLH"
means an atmosphere that poses an immediate threat to life, would
cause irreversible adverse health effects, or would impair an
individual's ability to escape from a dangerous atmosphere.
(2) "Interior structural fire fighting" means the physical
activity of fire suppression, rescue or both, inside of buildings
or enclosed structures which are involved in a fire situation
beyond the incipient stage.
(3) "Self-contained breathing apparatus" or "SCBA" means an
atmosphere-supplying respirator for which the breathing air
source is designed to be carried by the user.
(b) In all atmospheres that are immediately dangerous to
life or health, the fire department or company shall ensure that:
(1) One or, when needed, more than one firefighter, is
located outside the IDLH atmosphere;
(2) Visual, voice or signal line communication is maintained
between all firefighters in the IDLH atmosphere and those outside
the IDLH atmosphere;
(3) All firefighters located outside the IDLH atmosphere are
trained and equipped to provide effective emergency rescue;
(4) The fire department or company, or designee authorized
by the fire department or company, is notified before any
firefighter located outside the IDLH atmosphere enters the IDLH
atmosphere to provide emergency rescue;
(5) Once notified, the fire department or company, or designee authorized by the fire department or company, provides
necessary assistance appropriate to the situation;
(6) All firefighters located outside the IDLH atmospheres
are equipped with:
Pressure demand or other positive pressure self-contained
breathing apparatus or a pressure demand or other positive
pressure supplied-air respirator with an auxiliary SCBA, and
either:
(A) Appropriate retrieval equipment for removing all
firefighters who enter IDLH atmospheres where retrieval equipment
would contribute to the rescue of the firefighters and would not
increase the overall risk resulting from entry; or
(B) Equivalent means of rescue where retrieval equipment is
not required or not available.
(c) In addition to the requirements set forth under
subsection (b) of this section, when firefighters are engaging in
interior structural fire fighting, the fire department or company
shall ensure that:
(1) At least two firefighters enter the IDLH atmosphere and
remain in visual or voice contact with one another at all times;
(2) At least two firefighters are located outside the IDLH
atmosphere; and
(3) All firefighters engaged in interior structural fire
fighting use an SCBA.
(d) Nothing in this section is meant to preclude:
(1) The assignment of one of the firefighters located
outside the IDLH atmosphere to an additional role, such as
incident commander in charge, emergency officer or safety
officer, so long as this firefighter is able to perform
assistance or rescue activities without jeopardizing the safety
or health of any firefighter working in the IDLH atmosphere; and
(2) The performance of emergency rescue activities by
firefighters before an entire team has assembled.