[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65608-65610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22706]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2007-0079]


Standard on Fire Brigades; Extension of the Office of Management 
and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) 
Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comment concerning its proposal to extend 
OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified in 
its Standard on Fire Brigades (29 CFR 1910.156).

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
January 22, 2008.

ADDRESSES:
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit three copies of your comments 
and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2007-
0079, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier 
service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket 
Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA 
docket number for the ICR (OSHA-2007-0079). All comments, including any 
personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket 
without change, and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information on submitting comments see 
the ``Public Participation'' heading in the section of this notice 
titled ``Supplementary Information.''
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; 
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download through the website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at 
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate 
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 
200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 
693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's 
estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 
et seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or 
appropriate for enforcement of the Act or for developing information 
regarding the causes and prevention of occupational injuries, 
illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires 
that OSHA obtain such information with minimum burden upon employers, 
especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce to the 
maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining 
information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    Paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), (c)(1), (c)(2), and (c)(4) contain the 
paperwork requirements of the Standard.
    Under paragraph (b)(1) of the Standard, employers must develop and 
maintain an organizational statement that establishes the: Existence of 
a fire brigade; the basic organizational structure of the brigade; 
type, amount, and frequency of training provided to brigade members; 
expected number of

[[Page 65609]]

members in the brigade; and functions that the brigade is to perform. 
This paragraph also specifies that the organizational statement must be 
available for review by employees, their designated representatives, 
and OSHA compliance officers. The organizational statement delineates 
the functions performed by the brigade members and, therefore, 
determines the level of training and type of personal protective 
equipment (PPE) necessary for these members to perform their assigned 
functions safely. Making the statement available to employees, their 
designated representatives, and OSHA compliance officers ensures that 
the elements of the statement are consistent with the functions 
performed by the brigade members and the occupational hazards they 
experience, and that employers are providing training and PPE 
appropriate to these functions and hazards.
    To permit an employee with known heart disease, epilepsy, or 
emphysema to participate in fire-brigade emergency activities, 
paragraph (b)(2) of the Standard requires employers to obtain a 
physician's certificate of the employee's fitness to do so. This 
provision provides employers with a direct and efficient means of 
ascertaining whether or not they can safely expose employees with these 
medical conditions to the hazards of fire-fighting operations.
    Paragraph (c)(1) of the Standard requires employers to provide 
training and education for fire-brigade members commensurate with the 
duties and functions they perform, with brigade leaders and training 
instructors receiving more comprehensive training and education than 
employers provide to the general membership. Under paragraph (c)(2) of 
the Standard, employers must conduct training and education frequently 
enough, but at least annually, to assure that brigade members are able 
to perform their assigned duties and functions satisfactorily and 
safely; employers must provide brigade members who perform interior 
structural fire fighting with educational and training sessions at 
least quarterly. In addition, paragraph (c)(4) specifies that employers 
must: Inform brigade members about special hazards such as storage and 
use of flammable liquids and gases, toxic chemicals, radioactive 
sources, and water-reactive substances that may be present during fires 
and other emergencies; advise brigade members of changes in the special 
hazards; and develop written procedures that describe the actions 
brigade members must take when special hazards are present, and make 
these procedures available in the education and training program and 
for review by the brigade members.
    Providing appropriate training to brigade members at the specified 
frequencies, informing them about special hazards, developing written 
procedures on how to respond to special hazards, and making these 
procedures available for training purposes and review by the members 
enables them to use operational procedures and equipment in a safe 
manner to avoid or control dangerous exposures to fire related hazards. 
Therefore, the training and information requirements specified by 
paragraphs (c)(1), (c)(2), and (c)(4) of the Standard prevent serious 
injuries and death among members of fire brigades.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB extend its approval of the information 
collection requirements contained in the Standard on Fire Brigades (29 
CFR 1910.156). The Agency is requesting an adjustment decrease from 
6,042 hours to 5,048 hours for a total decrease of 994 hours. The 
decrease is a result of updated data estimating that the total number 
of establishments requiring new or revised organizational statements 
has declined from 2,797 to 2,337; and that the number of fire brigade 
members has declined from 559,390 to 467,330. The Agency will summarize 
the comments submitted in response to this notice and will include this 
summary in the request to OMB.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Standard on Fire Brigades (29 CFR 1910.156).
    OMB Number: 1218-0075.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents: 7,010.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Average Time Per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.05 hour) to 
obtain a physician's certificate to 2 hours to develop or revise an 
organizational plan.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 5,048.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (FAX); or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2007-0079). You 
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the 
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled Addresses). 
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them 
to your comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, 
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the 
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627).
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this 
Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are 
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. 
Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit 
comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User 
Tips'' link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about 
materials not available through the Web site, and for assistance in 
using the Internet to locate docket submissions.

[[Page 65610]]

V. Authority and Signature

    Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The 
authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR 
31159).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on November 15, 2007.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
 [FR Doc. E7-22706 Filed 11-20-07; 8:45 am]
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