Exit Routes, Emergency Action

Plans, Fire Prevention Plans,

and Fire Protection

OSHA Office of Training and Education 1

 Introduction
• Fires and explosions kill more
than 200 and injure more than
5,000 workers each year
• There is a long and tragic history
of workplace fires in this country
caused by problems with fire exits
and extinguishing systems
• OSHA requires employers to
provide proper exits, fire fighting
equipment, and employee training
to prevent fire deaths and injuries
in the workplace

OSHA Office of Training and Education 2

 Exit Route
• A continuous and unobstructed
path of exit travel from any point
within a workplace to a place of
safety (including refuge areas)
• Consists of three parts:
 Exit access
 Exit
 Exit discharge

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 Exit Routes
Basic Requirements
• Exit routes must be permanent and
there must be enough exits in the
proper arrangement for quick escape
• Exits must be separated by fire-
resistant materials
• Openings into an exit must be limited
to those necessary to allow access to
the exit or to the exit discharge
• An opening into an exit must be
protected by an approved self-closing
fire door that remains closed or
automatically closes in an emergency

OSHA Office of Training and Education 4

 Exit Discharge
• Each exit discharge must lead directly
outside or to a street, walkway, refuge
area, public way, or open space with
access to the outside that is large
enough to accommodate all building
occupants likely to use the exit route
• Exit stairs that continue beyond the
level on which the exit discharge is
located must be interrupted on that
level by doors, partitions, or other
effective means that clearly indicate the
direction of travel to the exit discharge

OSHA Office of Training and Education 5

 Exit Doors Must Be Unlocked
• Must be able to open from the inside at
all times without keys, tools, or special
knowledge
• Device such as a panic bar that locks
only from the outside is permitted
• Must be free of any device or alarm
that could restrict emergency use if the
device or alarm fails
• May be locked from the inside only in
Locked and
mental, penal, or correctional facilities
where there is constant supervision
blocked exit

OSHA Office of Training and Education 6

 Side-Hinged Exit Door
• Must be used to connect any room
to an exit route
• A door that connects any room to
an exit route must swing out in the
direction of exit travel if the room is
designed to be occupied by more
than 50 people or contains high
hazard contents

OSHA Office of Training and Education 7

 Exit Route Capacity
and Dimensions
• Must support the maximum permitted occupant load for
each floor served
• Capacity must not decrease in the direction of exit
route travel to the exit discharge
• Ceiling must be at least 7-½ ft. high with no projection
reaching a point less than 6 ft.-8 in. from floor
• An exit access must be at least 28 in. wide at all points

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Minimize Danger to Employees
• Exit routes must be free and
unobstructed
• Keep exit routes free of explosive
or highly flammable materials
• Arrange exit routes so that
employees will not have to travel
toward a high hazard area, unless
it is effectively shielded
• Emergency safeguards (e.g.,
sprinkler systems, alarm systems,
fire doors, exit lighting) must be in Obstructed
proper working order at all times exit route

OSHA Office of Training and Education 9

 Exit Marking
• Each exit must be clearly visible
and marked with an “Exit” sign
• Each exit route door must be
free of decorations or signs that
obscure the visibility of the door

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 Exit Marking (cont’d)
• If the direction of travel to the
exit or exit discharge is not
immediately apparent, signs
must be posted along the exit
access indicating direction to
the nearest exit
• The line-of-sight to an exit
sign must clearly be visible at
all times

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 Exit Marking (cont’d)
Each doorway or passage along
an exit access that could be
mistaken for an exit must be
marked “Not an Exit” or similar
designation, or be identified by a
sign indicating its actual use
(e.g., closet).

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 Emergency Action Plan
• Describes actions that must be
taken to ensure employee
safety in emergencies
• Includes floor plans or maps
which show emergency escape
routes
• Tells employees what actions to
take in emergency situations
• Covers reasonably expected
emergencies, such as fires,
explosions, toxic chemical
releases, hurricanes,
tornadoes, blizzards, and floods

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 Fire Prevention Plan
The plan must include:
• A list of the major fire hazards and handling,
storage, and control procedures
• Names or job titles of persons responsible for
maintenance of equipment and systems to
prevent or control ignitions or fires
• Names or job titles of persons responsible for
control of fuel source hazards
• Training for all employees who have
responsibilities in the plan

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 Portable Fire Extinguishers

If portable fire extinguishers

are provided for employee
use, the employer must
mount, locate and identify
them so workers can access
them without subjecting
themselves to possible injury.

Blocked extinguisher

OSHA Office of Training and Education 15

 Fire Extinguisher
• A fire extinguisher is an active fire protection device
used to extinguish or control small fires, often in
emergency situations.
• Prevention is based on eliminating or minimizing one
of the components of the “Fire Triangle”.

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 Three ways to extinguish a fire:

• • Starvation - Removal of fuel

• • Smothering - Removal of oxygen
• • Cooling - Removal of heat

• Remove any one of the three components and fire cannot

start or be sustained.
• Fire Safety, at its most basic, is based upon the principle
of keeping fuel sources and ignition sources separate.

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• Three things must be present at the same time to
produce fire:
• 1. Enough OXYGEN to sustain combustion
• 2. Enough HEAT to reach ignition temperature
• 3. Some FUEL or combustible material

• Together, they produce the CHEMICAL REACTION

that is fire.
• Take away any of these things and the fire will be
extinguished.
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 Fire Classifications

• Fires are classified according to the type of fuel that

is burning.
• If one use the wrong type of fire extinguisher on the
wrong class of fire, one might make matters worse.
• Its very important to understand the five different fire
(fuel) classifications...

OSHA Office of Training and Education 19

 Fire Classifications
• Class A Fires: Ordinary combustibles such as wood
and paper.
• Class B Fires: Flammable and combustible liquids
and gases.
• Class C Fires: Energized electrical equipment.
• Class D Fires: Combustible metals.
• Class K Fires: Cooking Oils and Fats, Kitchen.

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 Extinguisher Classification
Letter classification given an extinguisher to designate
the class or classes of fire on which it will be effective.
• Class A – ordinary combustibles (wood, cloth, paper)
• Class B – flammable liquids, gases, greases
• Class C – energized electrical equipment
• Class D – combustible metals

Combustible
Ordinary Flammable Electrical

A B
Liquids
C
Equipment
D
Combustibles Metals

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 Fire extinguishers

• There are two main types of fire extinguishers:

stored-pressure and cartridge-operated
• In stored pressure units, the expellant is stored in the
same chamber as the firefighting agent itself.
Depending on the agent used, different propellants
are used like nitrogen, air. Stored pressure fire
extinguishers are the most common type.
• Cartridge-operated extinguishers contain the expellant
gas in a separate cartridge that is punctured prior to
discharge, exposing the propellant to the
extinguishing agent. This type is not common.
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 Types of fire extinguishers
• Different types of fire extinguishers are designed to
fight different classes of fire.
• The 3 most common types of fire extinguishers are:
1. Water (Air Pressurized Water)
2. Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
3. Dry Chemical (ABC, BC, DC)
4. Wet Chemical

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 Water (Air Pressurized Water)

• Filled with ordinary tap water and pressurized air, they are
essentially large squirt guns.
• APW’s extinguish fire by taking away the “heat” element of
the Fire Triangle.
• APW’s are designed for Class A fires only: Wood, paper, cloth.
• It has the advantage of being inexpensive, harmless, and
relatively easy to clean up.

• Disadvantage: Freezes at 32°F (0°C).

• Load-stream extinguishers, wetting agents, or water mist can
be used. 24
 Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguishers
• CO2 cylinders are red. They range in size from 5 lbs
to 100 lbs or larger. On larger sizes, the horn will
be at the end of a long, flexible hose.
• The pressure in a CO2 extinguisher is so great, bits of dry ice
may shoot out of the horn!
• CO2’s are designed for Class B and C (Flammable Liquids
and Electrical Sources) fires only!
• Carbon dioxide is a non-flammable gas that takes away the
oxygen element of the fire triangle. Without oxygen, there is no
fire.
• CO2 is very cold as it comes out of the extinguisher, so it
cools the fuel as well.
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• A CO2 may be ineffective in extinguishing a Class A
fire as it may not be able to displace enough oxygen
to successfully put the fire out or the high-pressure
cloud of gas can scatter burning materials.
• CO2 is not suitable for use on fires containing their
own oxygen source, metals or cooking media.
Although it can be rather successful on a person on
fire, its use should be avoided where possible as it
can cause frostbite and suffocation.
• Class A materials may also have tendency to re-
ignite.
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 Dry Chemical (ABC) Fire
Extinguishers
• Dry chemical extinguishers put out fire by coating the fuel
with a thin layer of dust. This separates the fuel from the
oxygen in the air.
• The powder also works to interrupt the chemical reaction of
fire. These extinguishers are very effective at putting out fire.
• “ABC” fire extinguishers are filled with a fine yellow powder.
The greatest portion of this powder is composed of mono
ammonium phosphate. The extinguishers are pressurized
with nitrogen.

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 Dry chemical extinguishers
come in a variety of types...
• DC (for “Dry Chemical”)
• ABC (can be used on Class A, B, or C fires)
• BC (designed for use on Class B and C fires)

• Disadvantage: Chemicals are corrosive.

• Primary compounds:
•  Sodium bicarbonate
•  Potassium bicarbonate
•  Urea-based potassium carbonate
•  Potassium chloride
•  Ammonium phosphate

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 Wet Chemical
• Used for Class A, C,K fires.
• Extinguishes by cooling and forming a foam blanket
to prevent re-ignition.

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Maintaining Portable Fire Extinguishers

• Must maintain in a fully charged and

operable condition
• Must keep in their designated places
at all times except during use
• Must conduct an annual maintenance
check
• Must record the annual maintenance
date and retain this record for one year
after the last entry or the life of the
shell, whichever is less

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 Portable Fire Extinguisher
Training and Education
• Where portable fire extinguishers
have been provided for employee
use in the workplace, employees
must be provided with an
educational program on the:
 General principles of fire
extinguisher use
 Hazards of incipient
(beginning) stage fire fighting
• Employees designated to use
extinguishers must receive
instruction and hands-on practice
in the operation of equipment
OSHA Office of Training and Education 31
 Summary
• There must be enough exits in the proper
arrangement for quick escape
• Exit routes must be marked, lighted, free of
obstructions, and locks must not be used to impede
or prevent escape
• An emergency action plan and a fire prevention plan
must be in place
• Fire extinguisher classes and numerical ratings help
a user understand its capabilities
• Fire extinguishers must be inspected, maintained
and employees must be trained in how to use them

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